INVESTORS

CHICAGO, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR), the nation's largest provider of diversified industrial real estate, today announced that Sean O'Neill, 41, has been named senior vice president of investor relations and corporate communications. He will report directly to Mike Havala, chief financial officer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040106/FRLOGO )

"Sean has extensive financial and communications experience from having led the investor relations effort for two Fortune 500 Companies," said Mr. Havala. "We are very pleased that he has joined us in this new senior level position and we welcome him to our team. Together with Mike Daly, our director of investor relations and corporate communications, Sean will help us to expand our relationships with the investment community and the media as we grow our company."

Previously, Mr. O'Neill was corporate vice president of financial relations for Aon Corporation. He has also held senior positions with First Chicago NBD (Bank One), as vice president of investor relations, and Thomson Financial, as managing director of strategic investor relations consulting. Mr. O'Neill earned his masters of business administration with honors from DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and his bachelor of science in finance from Fairfield University. He is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute and the Board of Governors of The Mid-America Club.

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.
    -0-                             11/16/2004
    /CONTACT:  Sean P. O'Neill, SVP, Investor Relations and Corporate
Communications, +1-312-344-4401, or Mike Daly, Director, Investor Relations
and Corporate Communications, +1-312-344-4320, both of First Industrial Realty
Trust, Inc./
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040106/FRLOGO
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
             PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com /
    (FR)

CO:  First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.
ST:  Illinois
IN:  FIN RLT
SU:  PER

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9257 11/16/2004 13:59 EST http://www.prnewswire.com