NAIOP names Highwoods Properties 2009 developer of year - Dayton Business Journal:

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Highwoods Properties was named NAIOP’s 2009 developer of the year and will be honored atthe group’ds Oct. 15 meeting in Chicago. The real estat e investment trust, which was founded in 1978 in Raleigh, to develop, lease and manage officr space, has grown into a large publicd companywith $461 million in revenue in 2008. It owns or has an interest in 382 propertiesencompassing 35.4 milliojn square feet of office, industrial and retail space, and 580 acresw of development land. It’s the largest owned and operator of suburban office properties inthe Southeast, includint Tampa and Orlando. In 2008, it had a total market capitalizationof $3.6 billion.
“Highwoods is clearly a leader in both the real estate and generalbusiness communities, proven by its abilit to outperform no matter what the real estate cycle,” NAIOP Presidenft Thomas J. Bisacquino said in a statement. Presented annuall to one member-developer company that best exemplified leadership and innovation in the commerciaol realestate industry, the award is determines by a five-member selection committeee that uses six criteria to evaluate entries: industry and business leadership; involvement in NAIOP; qualityu of products and services; financial consistency and stability; ability to adapr to market conditions; and social Past award winners includd , , Bentall Capital, ProLogis, and .
During the last severapl years, Ed Fritsch, Highwoods chief executive officer, and his senio leadership team have focused on retaining the best assets in the mostdesirablre submarkets, while disposing of non-core land and buildingd at historically high pricing levels. Proceeds from the transactione strengthenedthe company’s balance sheeyt and funded a development pipeline. Since January Highwoods has delivered $633 million of office and industrial propertiesencompassinv 4.1 million square feet. Financial strength is a criticalp advantage offeredby Highwoods, as the company has significant in-place financial capacitt for funding customers’ space states the release.
Its 2009 goals includd continuing to upgrade the quality ofthe portfolio, deliveringf $93 million of new development and selling $50-109 million of older, non-corew assets.