INVESTORS

CHICAGO, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR), the nation's largest provider of diversified industrial real estate, today announced that Gerald A. Pientka has been named executive vice president, development. Mr. Pientka will be responsible for managing and expanding First Industrial's development business across its national platform.

"Jerry will lead our seasoned and skilled team of development professionals to meet the supply chain needs of our corporate customers," said Michael W. Brennan, president and chief executive officer. "Our $950 million FirstCal 1 joint venture gives us expanded opportunities for strategic investments, built-to-suits and speculative developments in key industrial markets. Jerry's management expertise, which includes developing more than 2,000 acres of business park land and more than $2 billion of industrial and office space, will be important to First Industrial's growth."

First Industrial currently has built-to-suit projects in process for companies including Solo Cup Company, Libbey Inc., Pier 1 Imports, Staples, Inc., Walgreen Co. and Mary Kay Inc.

Mr. Pientka has more than 25 years of commercial real estate management and development experience. Most recently, he was founder and principal of Verus Partners, a private real estate development firm. Prior to that, he was president of Higgins Development Partners, L.L.C., a private Chicago-based development company. Mr. Pientka is a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP). He is also board president of Christopher House, a Chicago-based social services agency. Mr. Pientka earned a masters of management in finance and marketing from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering from the University of Illinois.

Mr. Pientka is based out of First Industrial's Chicago headquarters. He can be reached at (312) 344-4468.

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. The Company owns, operates and has under development more than 100 million square feet of industrial real estate in markets throughout the United States. 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.

CONTACT: 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.