BRE Properties Advances Sustainability Efforts With LEED(R) Gold Certification of Park Viridian Apartment Community in Anaheim

BRE Properties Advances Sustainability Efforts With LEED(R) Gold Certification
of Park Viridian Apartment Community in Anaheim
Second BRE Community to Receive LEED Green Building and GreenPoint Rated
Certifications

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BRE Properties, Inc. (NYSE:
BRE) today announced that its Park Viridian apartment community in Anaheim,
Calif. has received LEED NC v2.2 Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC) and GreenPoint Rated certification by Build It Green. Park
Viridian is the first newly constructed residential property in Anaheim to be
awarded the LEED Gold designation.

Park Viridian is the second recently developed community in BRE's apartment
portfolio to receive LEED certification. In April, the company's 5600 Wilshire
apartment community in Los Angeles became the first multifamily property in
Southern California to receive both LEED NC v2.2 Silver and GreenPoint Rated
certifications. Both communities were developed by BRE and completed this
year.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the USGBC's rating
system for designing and constructing the world's greenest, most
energy-efficient and high-performing buildings. GreenPoint Rated is a
point-based system that evaluates energy efficiency, resource conservation,
indoor air quality, water conservation and community.

"The LEED and GreenPoint Rated certifications of Park Viridian are excellent
examples of BRE's growing commitment to sustainability. The small number of
certified green apartment communities nationwide puts us at the leading edge,"
said Constance B. Moore, BRE president and chief executive officer. "Building
to green standards, though, is only one aspect of our efforts to become a more
sustainable company. We also have taken measures to optimize sustainability at
our existing communities as well as our internal operations, which will
conserve resources and improve the quality of life at our established
properties and in our corporate offices. BRE recognizes its obligation to be
an active steward of the environment. We believe our leadership and
investments in environmental sustainability provide value for our customers,
associates and investors."

LEED and GreenPoint certifications of Park Viridian were based on a number of
green design and construction features that have a positive impact on the
apartment community, its residents and staff as well as the broader community.
These features include:

-- Innovation in building design;
-- Water-related programs, including water-use reduction and
water-efficient landscaping;
-- Energy-efficient heating/cooling, appliances and lighting;
-- Recycled content in construction materials;
-- High-performance thermal windows;
-- Low-emitting paints, coatings and carpets; and

-- Access to public transportation and bicycle storage.

Based on investment analysis conducted by the company, the incremental costs
of building to these green standards should be recouped in less than three
years. If water and energy prices increase past baseline assumptions, the
payback may be half that time.

"BRE's development strategy in recent years - high-density, in-fill locations
that are close to transportation and essential goods and services - is
environmentally responsible. Our resource-constrained markets and global
climate changes took us a step further to smart building design, like Park
Viridian," said Edward F. Lange, BRE's executive vice president, chief
operating officer. "BRE is shaping a sustainability program that will benefit
all stakeholders. We have taken measures to conserve water, reduce waste,
improve air quality and generally reduce the environmental impact of our
communities. Our prospective customers increasingly are expecting a green
living experience; our investors will appreciate the reduction in expenses
that goes directly to the bottom line; and our associates will be afforded an
enhanced work environment."

Park Viridian was designed by BRE Properties and KTGY Architects. The company
also partnered with CTG Energetics, Inc., of Irvine, Calif., to achieve LEED
and GreenPoint Rated certifications for energy use, lighting, water, air
quality and material use as well as incorporating a variety of other
sustainable strategies.

The LEED Green Building Rating System(TM) is a feature-oriented rating system
that awards buildings points for satisfying specified green building criteria
in six major environmental categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency,
energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality
and innovation and design. LEED verifies environmental performance, occupant
health and financial return. LEED was established for market leaders to design
and construct buildings that protect and save precious resources, while also
making good economic sense.

The GreenPoint rating process is a physical examination of building systems,
structures, materials, and components to assess energy and water efficiency,
indoor air quality, resource efficiency of materials and construction methods,
and construction quality.

About the U.S. Green Building Council
USGBC is a nonprofit membership organization whose vision is a sustainable
built environment within a generation. Its membership includes corporations,
builders, universities, government agencies and other nonprofit organizations.
Since UGSBC's founding in 1993, the council has grown to more than 17,000
member companies and organizations, a comprehensive family of LEED green
building rating systems, an expansive educational offering, the industry's
popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, and a network of 78
local chapters, affiliates and organizing groups. For more information, visit
www.usgbc.org.

About Build It Green
Build It Green is a non-profit organization that provides the GreenPoint Rated
program as a public service. The GreenPoint Rated program seeks to promote
high-performance homes and best practices in residential construction by
establishing a label to distinguish green homes from conventional homes
through credible third-party inspection and verification. The organization
also fosters positive interactions between GreenPoint Raters and building
professionals, and documents the full extent of resource conservation benefits
that green building practices deliver. For more information, go to
http://www.builditgreen.org.

About BRE Properties
BRE Properties, based in San Francisco, Calif., owns and manages apartment
communities convenient to its residents' work, shopping, entertainment and
transit in supply-constrained Western U.S. markets. BRE directly owns and
operates 73 apartment communities totaling 21,245 units in California, Arizona
and Washington. The company invests in communities through acquisition and
development, and currently has five properties in various stages of
development and construction, totaling 1,526 units, and joint-venture
interests in 13 additional apartment communities, totaling 4,080 units. BRE
Properties is a real estate investment trust (REIT) listed in the S&P MidCap
400 Index. For more information on BRE Properties, please visit our Web site
at www.breproperties.com.

SOURCE BRE Properties, Inc.

Thomas Mierzwinski, +1-415-445-6525, for BRE Properties