Six apartment complexes will be converted to clean energy in Louisiana’s largest solar installation

PIONEER IN ADAPTIVE REUSE OF HISTORIC BUILDINGS MAKES HISTORY WITH LARGE-SCALE SOLAR PROJECT

NEW ORLEANS, LA (January 30, 2012)—HRI Properties, which pioneered the adaptive reuse of historic buildings in the Warehouse District, is now pioneering the future of clean energy at six of its landmark developments with a $10 million, 1.05 megawatt solar energy project.

HRI’s energy project is the largest solar installation in Louisiana, generating 1.4 million kilowatt hours per year at its residential apartment complexes in New Orleans, Houma and Shreveport.

More than one million watts of solar panels are being installed at six prominent HRI developments: River Garden, American Can and the Blue Plate Artist Lofts in New Orleans; Bonne Terre Village I and II apartments for the elderly in Houma and the Lee Hardware/United Jewelers apartments in downtown Shreveport. River Garden and Bonne Terre are new construction, while the others are restorations of historic buildings.

All installations are complete, except American Can and Blue Plate apartments, both of which are expected to be finished in first quarter of 2012.

“Clean energy helps us fulfill the ‘sustainability’ part of our mission, which is to revitalize cities by creating diverse, vibrant and sustainable communities. The need for clean energy will only dramatically grow in the future,” said HRI co-chairman and co-founder Pres Kabacoff.

“This project will demonstrate the proven technology and long-term viability of solar energy in Louisiana,” said Wade Byrd, a long-time Louisiana energy efficiency and solar energy expert and president of Performance Building Consulting. “The project will employ multi-crystalline solar panels with a 25-year output warranty and state-of-the art inverters that will track and optimize the output from every single panel.”

The project will reduce utility costs for residents and lower the operating costs of the apartment communities served by offsetting individual unit and common area electrical loads through net metering arrangements with local electric utility companies.

Funding for the project was made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the EmPower Louisiana initiative administered by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, as well as state and federal renewable energy tax credit programs. Iberia Bank is providing construction financing for the project.

“Solar energy projects like this one can be seen as a fine example to other businesses and home owners in the state as they pursue the many advantages and benefits of alternative energy technologies,” noted DNR Secretary Scott Angelle.

“We are very proud to partner with HRI Properties, which has taken a positive lead role in delivering solar energy solutions to our region,” says Cleland Powell, Executive Vice President of Iberia Bank. “This relationship is representative of our abilities, as Louisiana’s largest locally-based bank, to handle a complex project such as this one,” Powell added.

About HRI Properties

Based in New Orleans, HRI Properties (HRI) is a full-service real estate development company and a national leader in the adaptive reuse of historic structures. HRI’s mission is revitalizing cities by creating diverse, vibrant, sustainable communities. Since its founding in 1982, HRI has completed 54 large-scale projects, which total 4,635 apartment and condominium units, 3,487 hotel rooms, and over 1.17 million square feet of retail and office space with a total development cost of more than $1.6 billion. For more information, go to www.hriproperties.com.