INVESTORS

CHICAGO, July 22, 2005 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR), the nation's largest provider of diversified industrial real estate, today announced the signing of a build-to-suit agreement with Staples, Inc., the world's largest office products company.

First Industrial will develop Staples' new 400,000 square-foot fulfillment center, expandable up to 700,000 square feet, at Terminus West Industrial Park in Douglasville, GA, a 2.4 million square foot park being developed by First Industrial in the I-20 West/Fulton industrial submarket of Greater Atlanta. The facility will fulfill office product orders for Staples customers throughout the Southeast. The facility is scheduled to be completed in late 2005.

"We are pleased to be meeting Staples' need in this region by developing this state-of-the-art fulfillment center facility," said Dick Astheimer, senior vice president of development for First Industrial Realty Trust. "The Terminus West Industrial Park was the ideal location for Staples and the opportunity to expand the facility supports their commitment to the region and will help accommodate their future growth needs."

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc., the nation's largest provider of diversified industrial real estate, serves every aspect of Corporate America's industrial real estate needs, including customized supply chain solutions, through its unique I-N-D-L operating platform, which utilizes a pure Industrial focus and National scope to provide Diverse facility types, while offering Local, full-service management and expertise. Building, buying, selling, leasing and managing industrial property in major markets nationwide, First Industrial develops long-term relationships with corporate real estate directors, tenants and brokers to better serve customers with creative, flexible industrial real estate solutions.

This press release contains forward-looking information about the Company. A number of factors could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including changes in: economic conditions generally and the real estate market specifically, legislative/regulatory changes (including changes to laws governing the taxation of real estate investment trusts), availability of financing, interest rate levels, competition, supply and demand for industrial properties in the Company's current and proposed market areas, potential environmental liabilities, slippage in development or lease-up schedules, tenant credit risks, higher- than-expected costs and changes in general accounting principles, policies and guidelines applicable to real estate investment trusts. For further information on these and other factors that could impact the Company and the statements contained herein, reference should be made to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.

Sean P. O'Neill, SVP, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, +1-312-344-4401, or Art Harmon, Sr. Manager, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, +1-312-344-4320, both of First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.