<p>Duke Realty Corporation (Duke) announced that the remaining 8.5 acre
parcel of land in its Lakeside Crossing Business Park will be the site
of another new 116,000-square foot, built-to-suit office building for
Monsanto. With the development of this land, the 100 acres that Duke
acquired produced 14 building projects over the past eight years.<br />&nbsp;<br />Located
in the West Port submarket of St. Louis, Lakeside Crossing Business
Park sits on land that previously was a neglected area of the city with
older businesses and industrial properties. Duke has invested more than
$55 million and developed 916,551 square feet of new Class A office,
service center, and warehouse space in Lakeside Crossing Business Park,
attracting several notable tenants, including State Farm Mutual
Automobile Insurance, Johnson Controls, Shaughnessy, KPLR-Channel ll,
TALX, and Parents as Teachers. <br />&nbsp;<br />This past summer, Monsanto
moved into Lakeside Crossing Office One, a 127,778-square foot
building, leaving one undeveloped site open. Monsanto subsequently
asked Duke to develop another building for them on the remaining parcel
in the park, which is adjacent to Lakeside Crossing Office One. The new
building, Lakeside Crossing Two, will be a sister building to the one
presently occupied by Monsanto. &nbsp;<br />&nbsp;<br />&ldquo;We are very pleased that we
have been able to provide a real estate solution for such a dynamic
company as Monsanto and bring Lakeside Crossing Business Park to
completion,&rdquo; said Toby Martin, Senior Vice President of Duke&rsquo;s St.
Louis operations. &ldquo;Monsanto, like many other companies, was attracted
by the accessibility of the park, as well as the nearby amenities in
this vital submarket.&rdquo; <br />&nbsp;<br />&ldquo;We are delighted that Monsanto will
be expanding its space in Maryland Heights and we look forward to
working&nbsp; with them and Duke to complete this new facility as
expeditiously as possible,&rdquo; said City of Maryland Heights Mayor Mike
Moeller. &ldquo;When the City selected Duke eight years ago to redevelop the
area known as the South Heights, we were confident that they would
develop a first-rate business park. Lakeside Crossing is now a very
successful development and, with the announcement of this new building,
will soon have nearly one million square feet of quality commercial
space and more than 2,500 quality jobs. I can think of no better
example of a successful public-private partnership in the State of
Missouri.&rdquo;<br />Ground will be broken on Lakeside Crossing Two the first
week of November, and the building is expected to be completed and
occupied by December 2009. Whitaker Varley, Duke&rsquo;s Vice President of
Leasing, represented Duke Realty Corporation.</p>