ATLANTA - July 30, 2012 - Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE: PDM) announced today that it completed approximately 600,000 square feet of total leasing and two Capital Markets transactions in the second quarter of 2012.  Piedmont also noted that it was close to completing several other large lease transactions at the end of the quarter and signed an additional 100,000+ square feet just subsequent to June 30, 2012.

Significant leasing highlights for the quarter included:

Minneapolis , MN  - Piper Jaffray & Co. signed a 123,882 square foot, 11+ year new lease through 2025 at Piedmont's US Bancorp Center, located at 800 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis, MN.

New York / Northern NJ - Brother International Corporation completed a 101,724 square foot, 10+ year new lease through 2023 at 200 Bridgewater Crossing in Bridgewater, NJ.

Also at 200 Bridgewater Crossing, biotechnology company, Dendreon Corporation signed a new 39,937 square foot, 10+ year new lease through 2023.

Dallas, TX - HD Vest Financial Services completed a 81,069 square foot, 10+ year lease renewal through 2023 at Las Colinas Corporate Center I, located at 6333 N. State Highway 161 in Irving, TX. 

Chicago, IL -Global Knowledge Training, LLC signed a 5,749 square foot, 8+ year new lease, as well as a 16,279 square foot, 5 year lease renewal at Windy Point I, located at 1500 McConnor Parkway in Schaumburg, IL.  The two transactions total 22,028 square feet and have coterminous lease expirations of 2020.

Additionally, the following lease transactions were completed just subsequent to June 30, 2012:

Los Angeles, CA - Guidance Software signed a 86,790 square foot, 10+ year new lease through 2024 at 1055 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, CA.

Houston, TX - Schlumberger completed a 26,358 square foot, 12 year lease expansion at 1200 Enclave Parkway in Houston, TX.  Schlumberger now leases a total of 131,790 square feet with coterminous expirations of 2024.

Piedmont also completed the following capital markets transactions in the second quarter:

Orange County, CA - Completed the sale of 26200 Enterprise Way in Lake Forest, CA for $28.2 million.  Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, LLC, purchased the two-story, 144,906 square-foot office property, on behalf of a separate account client.  The property is currently 100% leased to Panasonic Avionics Corporation.

Atlanta, GA- Acquired 2.01 acres of land (87,556 square feet) referred to as the Gavitello Land Parcels for $2.5 million.  The development parcel is located adjacent to Piedmont's existing Medici building, in the prominent Piazza at Paces office park in the Buckhead submarket.
  
"While the competition for tenants remains strong, we are pleased to be retaining existing and adding new tenants in some of our major markets, including Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles," said C.A. "Bo" Reddic, IV, Executive Vice-President of Real Estate Operations for Piedmont.  "We are encouraged by the overall leasing activity in progress across our national portfolio, and optimistic about completing several large lease transactions over the next few months," added Reddic.

About Piedmont:  Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) is a fully-integrated and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in high-quality, Class A office properties located primarily in the ten largest U.S. office markets, including Chicago, Washington, D.C., New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Boston.  As of June 30, 2012, Piedmont's 74 wholly-owned office buildings were comprised of over 20 million rentable square feet. The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA with local management offices in each of its major markets. Investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's, Piedmont has maintained a low-leverage strategy while transacting $5.9 billion and $1.7 billion in property acquisitions and dispositions, respectively, during its fourteen year operating history.  For more information, see www.piedmontreit.com.

Contact:                 Kerry Hughes

Company:             Piedmont Office Realty Trust

Phone:                   + 1 770 418 8678

Email:                     Kerry.Hughes@Piedmontreit.com