FIRST INDUSTRIAL ACQUIRES 1.8 MILLION SQUARE-FOOT INDUSTRIAL PORTFOLIO IN CLEVELAND

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR), the nation's largest provider of diversified industrial real estate, today announced that it recently acquired a portfolio of ten industrial buildings totaling 1.8 million square feet in the greater Cleveland area. The portfolio was primarily comprised of bulk distribution centers in the Glenwillow, Solon and Strongsville submarkets.

"This acquisition of institutional quality assets is an excellent addition to our portfolio and reinforces our commitment to establishing First Industrial as a market leader in the Greater Cleveland Area," said Brady Scott, senior investment officer of First Industrial. "In this transaction, First Industrial demonstrated one of our key competitive strengths in our ability to quickly close on large, multi-property deals."

"We are pleased to complete the acquisition of this portfolio of best in class' facilities" said Mark Volkman, director of First Industrial's Ohio region. "These properties are located in Cleveland's premier submarkets, which have exhibited solid fundamentals as customers seek efficient distribution to and from Ohio."

"First Industrial's national platform and diverse capital base position us to complete acquisitions ranging from sizeable portfolio transactions, such as this transaction, to single tenant properties and developable land," added David O'Reilly, investment officer.

First Industrial owns and manages more than 3.6 million square feet in Cleveland.