INVESTORS

CHICAGO, October 5, 1999 – First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR), through its First Services division, announced today it has signed non-exclusive agreements with two communication companies: Teligent and Newton Technologies. The agreements will give the Company and its partners the ability to offer a wide range of state-of-the-art, fixed wireless and wirelined telecommunication services to First Industrial's 3,500 tenants. First Industrial Chief Operating Officer Gary Heigl said, “This program is consistent with our mission to lower the cost of business for First Industrial customers by providing access to high-quality services and products through our national network of business partners.”

Mark Saturno, Vice President of Portfolio Management, said, “The addition of this program gives our tenants choice and breadth of services in helping support their telecommunication service needs. The program also adds to our current menu of value-added products and services.”

“This agreement enables Teligent to bring the world of e-commerce to First Industrial's customers, located across the U.S.,” said Teligent's Senior Vice President of Site Acquisition Bruce Wagner. “For First Industrial's customers, this means gaining access to Teligent's revolutionary services – to the world of cyberspace with speed and cost savings.”

George Stejic, President of Newton Technologies, LLC, said, “We're delighted to be selected by First Industrial as a First Services partner. Providing First Industrial's tenants with telecommunication and IT products is a tremendous opportunity. Newton prides itself on its service responsiveness, and we're confident we can add to First Services' growing reputation of adding value for its tenants.”

First Services is a business division of First Industrial designed to leverage the economies of scale inherent in a multibillion dollar industrial real estate company. The main functions of First Services are to provide tenants with operational services, reduce the cost of doing business for both First Industrial and its tenants, and identify additional sources of revenue for the Company.

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., one of the nation's largest, fully integrated providers of industrial real estate, owns and operates 69 million square feet of industrial facilities and manages an additional nine million square feet. The Company's strategy is to create shareholder value through the efficient operation of its national franchise, which is diversified across facility type, geographic location and customer base. First Industrial focuses on superior localized customer service and value-added investments including development and redevelopment.