ATLANTA and HOUSTON - April 3, 2014 - Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE: PDM) broke ground today on Enclave Place, a 300,000-square-foot, 11-story Class A office building at 1414 Enclave in the Enclave business park, south of Interstate 10 and between North Eldridge Parkway and Briar Forest Drive.  Construction is targeted for completion by mid-2015.

        "We are excited to be breaking ground on the first speculative building in Piedmont's 16-year history," said Donald A. Miller, CFA, President and Chief Executive Officer for Piedmont Office Realty Trust. "The extraordinarily high quality of Enclave Place, coupled with the strength of the Houston Energy Corridor office market should contribute to a successful development."

        The building will be constructed on a 4.7-acre development site adjacent to and immediately north of Piedmont's 1430 Enclave Parkway building in the Enclave business park, a deed-restricted and architecturally controlled corporate business environment in Houston's Energy Corridor.  The Enclave is home to corporate users such as Sysco, Schlumberger Technology, Technip, Dow Chemical and Gulf States Toyota.  The project will include a six-level parking garage and 28,850-square-foot floor plates.  The building will qualify for LEED Silver certification by the U. S. Green Building Council.  

        Enclave Place provides immediate access to Interstate 10/Katy Freeway and Highway 6 with the Sam Houston Parkway, Westpark Tollway and Grand Parkway within minutes.  The property is adjacent to the Buffalo Bayou hike and bike trails of Terry Hershey Park.

        In addition to Piedmont's Bob Wiberg, Joe Pangburn, Jason Williams, and Chad Nusbaum, the development team is comprised of the following firms: Gensler, architect; PMRG, project manager; and Tellepsen Builders, general contractor.  Chip Colvill, Damon Thames and Connor Saxe of Colvill Office Properties are leasing the project.

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, Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas.  As of December 31, 2013, Piedmont's 78 wholly-owned office buildings were comprised of over 21 million rentable square feet. The Company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with local management offices in each of its major markets. Piedmont is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's and Moody's and has maintained a low-leverage strategy while acquiring and disposing of properties during its sixteen 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