Highwoods Properties (HIW)

To Be Held on May 13, 2009

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This proxy statement is being furnished to stockholders of Highwoods Properties, Inc. in connection with the solicitation of proxies for use at our annual meeting of stockholders on Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at 11:00 a.m., on the 2^nd floor of our corporate headquarters building located at 3100 Smoketree Court, Raleigh, North Carolina 27604. The purposes of the meeting are set forth in the notice of meeting. This solicitation is made on behalf of our Board of Directors.

Holders of record of shares of our common stock as of the close of business on the record date, March 2, 2009, are entitled to vote at the meeting. The outstanding common stock constitutes the only class of securities entitled to vote at the meeting and each share of common stock entitles the holder to one vote. At the close of business on the record date, there were 63,747,307 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

On April 2, 2009, we expect to mail our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, which will indicate how to access our proxy materials on the Internet, in connection with the solicitation of proxies by our Board of Directors for use at the meeting and any adjournments or postponements. On the date of mailing, we will make our proxy statement and 2008 Annual Report publicly available on the Internet according to the instructions provided in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials.

If you received a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials by mail, you will not receive a printed copy of the proxy materials except upon request. Instead, the notice will instruct you how to access and review all of the important information contained in the proxy materials online. The notice will also instruct you as to how you may submit your proxy over the Internet or by telephone. If you would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials, you should follow the instructions for requesting such materials included in the notice.

The presence, in person or by proxy, of holders of at least a majority of the total number of shares of common stock entitled to vote is necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the annual meeting. Abstentions and broker non-votes will count toward the presence of a quorum. Proposal One, the election of directors, requires the vote of a plurality of all of the votes cast at the meeting. Proposal Two, the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2009, requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast on the proposal. With respect to Proposals One and Two, abstentions and broker non-votes will not be counted as votes cast and will have no effect on the result of the vote. Proposal Three, a proposal to approve our 2009 long-term equity incentive plan, requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock. With respect to Proposal Three, abstentions and broker non-votes will have the same effect as votes against the proposal.

Please vote by telephone or over the Internet as indicated in the Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials. Alternatively, you may complete, sign, date and return the proxy card available on the Internet or in the accompanying proxy materials. If you hold your shares through a bank, broker or other nominee, they will give you separate instructions on voting your shares. Shares of common stock represented by a properly executed proxy received prior to the vote at the meeting and not revoked will be voted at the meeting as directed on the proxy. Where no specification is made on a properly executed form of proxy, the shares will

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be voted FOR the election of all nominees for director, FOR the proposal to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2009, FOR the proposal to approve our 2009 long-term equity incentive plan and FOR authorization of the proxy to vote upon such other business as may properly come before the meeting and any adjournments or postponements.