Press Release

Jacobs Group Announces New Partner in Key Center Complex

Atlanta-based Wells Real Estate Funds To Assume 50% Ownership

Cleveland, Ohio - December 22, 2005 - The Richard E. Jacobs Group, developer and managing owner/partner of the Key Center complex in downtown Cleveland, announced today that Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II Inc. has acquired a 50% ownership stake in Key Center.

Wells REIT II will assume the ownership position of Key Center's current partner, the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. The Jacobs Group will continue as 50% owner and managing partner of the complex.

Wells REIT II is a fund of Atlanta-based Wells Real Estate Funds, among the nation's largest and most prominent owners of Class A office properties.

"While we had previously believed that it would be necessary to sell the entire complex to one owner, we were able to finalize a deal that enables The Jacobs Group to continue its ownership and management position at Key Center," said Douglas L. Miller, Vice President of Office Management and Leasing. "And, we couldn't have found a more impressive organization and partner than Wells Real Estate Funds."

"This is truly one of the premier office developments in the nation," said Leo Wells, president of Wells Real Estate Funds, "and it nicely fits our strategy of ownership in the top echelon of commercial real estate properties across the country for our investors."

Designed by acclaimed architect Cesar Pelli, the 57-story, 1.5-million-square-foot Key Tower opened in 1991 and is the tallest building between New York and Chicago. It is attached to a 25-story, 403-room Marriott Hotel, completely remodeled this year, and to the historic 10- floor, 147,000-square-foot Society For Savings Building, Cleveland's first "skyscraper" when it opened in 1891. The property also includes an underground, 900-space parking facility, The Memorial Plaza Garage. Collectively the property is known as Key Center; the office portion serves as the headquarters of KeyCorp, one of the nation's largest financial institutions, and includes as major tenants the international law firms of Squire Sanders and Thompson Hine.

"This is not only one of the nation's very finest office towers, but a great mixed-use development, including a fine hotel and a historic property," Wells noted. "While our REITs are focused on office properties, we do have the flexibility to look at mixed-use when the opportunity arises, and this opportunity is an outstanding addition to our portfolio."

Wells Real Estate Funds, a national real estate investment management firm, purchases real estate on behalf of Wells-sponsored investment programs. Since 1984, more than 200,000 people across the country have invested, through their financial representatives, in Wellssponsored programs to help diversify their portfolios. Collectively, Wells-sponsored programs own more than $7 billion in assets (valued at cost) totaling more than 32 million square feet of space. (To find out more, visit Wells online at www.wellsref.com.)

The Richard E. Jacobs Group has long been one of the nation's most established and respected owners, developers, and managers of commercial real estate. Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Westlake, Ohio, The Jacobs Group remains today as a major developer and manager of retail, office, and hotel properties. In suburban Cleveland, The Jacobs Group is the managing partner and developer of the 600-acre Chagrin Highlands development, a world-class corporate community containing numerous office, retail, hotel, and service components.

The Jacobs Group currently also has two regional shopping centers under development and/or construction in Florida: Gulf Coast Town Center in Lee County near Fort Myers is scheduled to open in fall, 2006 and is a joint venture development with CBL & Associates Properties. The second center, Cypress Creek Town Center, in Pasco County near Tampa is scheduled to begin construction in mid-2006. The Jacobs Group is also the co-owner and redevelopment manager for Westgate Mall in suburban Cleveland.

Wells Contact: Rick Matthews
Rubenstein Associates
212-843-8267
rmatthews@rubenstein.com

Jacobs Contact: William Fullington
Fullington Services
216-231-7905
mail@fullingtonservices.com

Note to editors: Please note that your file photos of Key Tower may not contain the recent addition of the KeyCorp logo signs at the tower's top. 300 dpi color photographs of Key Center with this addition are available upon request to either company's contact representative.