Atlanta and Chicago, September 30, 2014 - Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) announced today that JLL, one of the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment management firms, has signed a 199,730 square foot, 15-year extension lease through 2032 at its downtown Chicago trophy property, The Aon Center.  The lease contains pre-term expansion and contraction rights that, if exercised, could increase or decrease the leased square footage by one floor.  The prominent East Loop tower has served as JLL's world headquarters since 1996.    

Located at 200 East Randolph Street, the iconic Aon Center totals just under 3 million square feet and soars 83 stories.  It  is a past winner of the prestigious international TOBY Award, is certified as LEED Silver and has current Energy Star and BOMA 360 designations.  The building offers a wide array of retail and other amenities to its many notable tenants, who include Aon, DDB Needham, Edelman, Federal Home Loan Bank, Integrys, KPMG, Microsoft, Thoughtworks, and United HealthCare. 

"Of all of the options that we considered, Aon Center is best suited for our employees and the way they work and gives us the best opportunity to implement the newest, best-in-class workplace designs," said JLL Americas CEO Greg O'Brien.

Steve Smith and Mark Georgas of JLL represented the landlord in the transaction, along with Piedmont's Damian Miller, CFA, Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Carroll A. "Bo" Reddic, IV, Executive Vice President, Real Estate Operations.  The JLL team of Jeff Liljeberg, Rob Schmidt, and Mike Sessa represented the tenant.

"Completing a lease transaction of this size is a major win for both parties, and a testament to the long-standing relationship with JLL," said Donald A Miller, CFA, President and Chief Executive Officer for Piedmont.  "We are pleased that JLL has decided to make an ongoing commitment to 200 East Randolph and the East Loop - we look forward to continuing this positive and collaborative working relationship in the years ahead," added Miller.

About Piedmont:  Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PDM) is a fully-integrated and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in the ownership and management of high-quality Class A office buildings located primarily in nine of the largest U.S. office markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Washington, D.C.  Approximately 72% of its tenants are investment grade-rated or governmental tenants, or large, nationally-recognized companies not requiring investment ratings. The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with local management offices in each of its major markets.  Investment grade-rated by Standard & Poor's (BBB) and Moody's (Baa2), Piedmont has maintained a relatively low leverage strategy throughout its sixteen year operating history.  For more information, see www.piedmontreit.com.

About JLL:  JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual fee revenue of $4.0 billion and gross revenue of $4.5 billion, JLL has more than 200 corporate offices, operates in 75 countries and has a global workforce of approximately 53,000.  On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services for a property portfolio of 3.0 billion square feet, or 280.0 million square meters, and completed $99.0 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2013. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $50.0 billion of real estate assets under management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.

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Contacts:

PDM
Kerry Hughes
Director, National Account/Tenant Relations
+1 770 418 8678
kerry.hughes@piedmontreit.com

JLL
Ed Fanselow
Vice President, Communications & Marketing
+1 312 228 3170
ed.fanselow@am.jll.com