Johnson Inc. to construct new head office in St. John's, NL

ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland (09 October 2008) - Johnson Inc. is pleased to announce that it is moving forward with plans to develop its new head office in downtown St. John's, on the corner of New Gower Street and Hamilton Avenue on the former Horwood Lumber Site.

"This is a very exciting time at Johnson," says Ken Bennett, President of Johnson Inc. "We have been growing our company at an exciting pace across Canada in recent years. We are looking forward to having a new head office developed right here in St. John's, where our business began more than 125 years ago."

Working with real estate consulting firm Martek Morgan Finch, Johnson is in the early stages of a process to construct a new head office. An application regarding the proposed development will be submitted to the City of St. John's on Friday, Oct. 10.

"This is an exciting project for Johnson. This new building will accommodate our expanding workforce at our head office in the St. John's region," says Bennett. "We selected the location on New Gower Street as it provides us with a prominent local presence along with easy access and ample parking opportunities for our clients and employees."

While the project is still in the early planning and development stages, the specifications below are included in the application. It is proposed that:

• The building will comprise approximately 140,000 sq. ft.;
• The height of the building from New Gower St. will be approximately 22m or 8 storeys; and
• Parking will consist of a total of 569 stalls (42 outdoor and 527 indoor).

"We are excited to have an opportunity to revitalize a key piece of downtown and enhance an area that has been vacant for over a decade," says Bennett. "Like the residents of St. John's, we are proud of our heritage. We are also proud to contribute to the growth of our community. We remain committed to the extensive branch network across Newfoundland and Labrador providing local, convenient service to our customers."

The building will be designed to enhance the site's features and minimize the impact on sight lines. It will also feature attractive finishes and landscaping aimed at greening the site and providing pedestrian walkways and seating areas.

Headquartered in St. John's, NL since 1880, Johnson Inc. is nationally based, with over 1,100 employees in 65 locations from coast to coast. The company is one of Canada's leading and fastest growing home and auto insurance and plan benefits providers. Johnson Inc. has been recognized as being the world's leading customer relationship organization and is now the 7th largest company headquartered in Atlantic Canada as reported in Progress Magazine's Top 101 Companies in Atlantic Canada.