Exhibit 99.1

First Industrial Realty Trust Reports

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2016 Results

CHICAGO, February 22, 2017 – First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR), a leading fully integrated owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate, today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year 2016. Diluted net income available to common stockholders per share (EPS) was $0.20 in the fourth quarter, compared to $0.39 a year ago. Full year 2016 diluted net income available to common stockholders was $1.05 per share, compared to $0.66 per share in 2015.

First Industrial’s fourth quarter FFO was $0.38 per share/unit on a diluted basis, compared to $0.37 per share/unit a year ago.

Full year 2016 FFO was $1.45 per share/unit on a diluted basis versus $1.27 per share/unit in 2015.

“First Industrial produced another excellent year in 2016, driving increased cash flow for our shareholders and further enhancing our portfolio through high quality developments, acquisitions and targeted sales,” said Peter E. Baccile, First Industrial’s president and CEO. “Our operating metrics reflect the team’s excellent execution and the continuing strong fundamentals in our industry. We look to build upon our track record in 2017 and beyond, levering the strengths of our platform.”

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Portfolio Performance – Fourth Quarter 2016

Common Stock Dividend Increased

The board of directors declared a common dividend of $0.21 per share/unit for the quarter ending March 31, 2017 payable on April 17, 2017 to stockholders of record on March 31, 2017. The new dividend rate represents a 10.5% increase from the prior rate of $0.19 per share.

Capital Markets – First Quarter 2017

On February 21, 2017, the Company entered into a note and guaranty agreement to issue $200 million of fixed rate senior unsecured notes in a private placement offering with a weighted average interest rate of 4.34%. The notes are comprised of two tranches: $125 million with a 10-year term at an interest rate of 4.30% and $75 million with a 12-year term at an interest rate of 4.40%. The Company anticipates closing the offering on or about April 20, 2017.

“We are pleased to return to the unsecured debt markets through this $200 million private placement as we position our balance sheet to lower our long-term borrowing costs,” said Scott Musil, chief financial officer. “The offering demonstrates the strength of our credit profile and portfolio.”

Investment and Disposition Activities

In the fourth quarter, the Company:

For the full year 2016, the Company:

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In the first quarter of 2017 to date, the Company:

“In 2016, we created value for shareholders through our development program, placing in service $210 million of state-of-the-art buildings that were 98% leased,” said Johannson Yap, chief investment officer. “To support our long-term cash flow growth, our team continues to replenish our development pipeline with land acquisitions, particularly those which we can put in production rapidly to meet tenant demand, along with select acquisitions.”

Outlook for 2017

Mr. Baccile stated, “In 2017, our focus continues to be on driving incremental cash flow from leasing within our portfolio and our development investments. The supply and demand picture in the industrial real estate sector remains favorable, supporting further market rent growth and growth in cash rents within our portfolio.”

The following assumptions were used:

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A number of factors could impact our ability to deliver results in line with our assumptions, such as interest rates, the economy, the supply and demand of industrial real estate, the availability and terms of financing to potential acquirers of real estate, the timing and yields for divestment and investment, and numerous other variables. There can be no assurance that First Industrial can achieve such results.

Conference Call

First Industrial will host its quarterly conference call on Thursday, February 23, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. CST). The conference call may be accessed by dialing (888) 823-7459, passcode “First Industrial.” The conference call will also be webcast live on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website at www.firstindustrial.com. The replay will also be available on the website.

The Company’s fourth quarter and full year 2016 supplemental information can be viewed at www.firstindustrial.com under the “Investors” tab.

FFO Definition

First Industrial reports FFO in accordance with the NAREIT definition to provide a comparative measure to other REITs. NAREIT recommends that REITs define FFO as net income, excluding gains (or losses) from the sale of previously depreciated property, plus depreciation and amortization, excluding impairments from previously depreciated assets, and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures.

About First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FR) is a leading fully integrated owner, operator, and developer of industrial real estate with a track record of providing industry leading customer service to multinational corporations and regional customers. Across major markets in the United States, our local market experts manage, lease, buy, (re)develop, and sell bulk and regional distribution centers, light industrial, and other industrial facility types. In total, we own and have under development approximately 64.7 million square feet of industrial space as of December 31, 2016. For more information, please visit us at www.firstindustrial.com.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release and the presentation to which it refers may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend for such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, and are generally identifiable by use of the words “believe,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “seek,” “target,” “potential,” “focus,” “may,” “will,” “should” or similar words. Although we believe the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained or that results will not materially differ. Factors which could have a materially adverse effect on our operations and future prospects include, but are not limited to: changes in national, international, regional and local economic conditions generally and real estate markets specifically; changes in legislation/regulation (including changes to laws governing the taxation of real estate investment trusts) and actions of regulatory authorities; our ability to qualify and maintain our status as a real estate investment trust; the

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availability and attractiveness of financing (including both public and private capital) and changes in interest rates; the availability and attractiveness of terms of additional debt repurchases; changes in our credit agency ratings; our ability to comply with applicable financial covenants; our competitive environment; changes in supply, demand and valuation of industrial properties and land in our current and potential market areas; difficulties in identifying and consummating acquisitions and dispositions; our ability to manage the integration of properties we acquire; potential liability relating to environmental matters; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by our tenants; decreased rental rates or increased vacancy rates; higher-than-expected real estate construction costs and delays in development or lease-up schedules; changes in general accounting principles, policies and guidelines applicable to real estate investment trusts; and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed from time to time in our other Exchange Act reports and in our other public filings with the SEC. We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect our outlook only and speak only as of the date of this press release or the dates indicated in the statements. We assume no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements. For further information on these and other factors that could impact us and the statements contained herein, reference should be made to our filings with the SEC.

A schedule of selected financial information is attached.

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FIRST INDUSTRIAL REALTY TRUST, INC.

Selected Financial Data

(Unaudited)

(In thousands except per share/Unit data)

FIRST INDUSTRIAL REALTY TRUST, INC.

Selected Financial Data

(Unaudited)

(In thousands except per share/Unit data)

As used herein, we calculate FFO to be equal to net income available to First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.‘s common stockholders and participating securities, plus depreciation and other amortization of real estate, plus impairment of depreciable real estate, minus gain on sale of depreciable real estate.

NOI is defined as our revenues, minus property expenses such as real estate taxes, repairs and maintenance, property management, utilities, insurance and other expenses.

EBITDA is defined as NOI plus the equity in FFO of our joint ventures, which were accounted for under the equity method of accounting, minus general and administrative expenses and acquisition costs.

AFFO is defined as EBITDA minus GAAP interest expense, minus capitalized interest and overhead, plus amortization of debt discounts / (premiums) and hedge costs, minus straight-line rental income, amortization of above (below) market leases and lease inducements, minus provision for income taxes or plus benefit for income taxes, plus restricted stock amortization, minus non-incremental capital expenditures. Non-incremental capital expenditures are building improvements and leasing costs required to maintain current revenues.

FFO, NOI, EBITDA and AFFO do not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and are not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs, including the repayment of principal on debt and payment of dividends and distributions. FFO, NOI, EBITDA and AFFO should not be considered as substitutes for net income available to common stockholders and participating securities (calculated in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of results of operations or cash flows (calculated in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of liquidity. FFO, NOI, EBITDA and AFFO as currently calculated by us may not be comparable to similarly titled, but variously calculated, measures of other REITs.

In addition, we consider cash-basis same store NOI (“SS NOI”) to be a useful supplemental measure of our operating performance. Same store properties include all properties owned prior to January 1, 2015 and held as an in service property through the end of the current reporting period, and developments and redevelopments that were placed in service or were substantially completed for 12 months prior to January 1, 2015 (the “Same Store Pool”). We define SS NOI as NOI, less NOI of properties not in the Same Store Pool, less the impact of straight-line rent, the amortization of lease inducements, the amortization of above/below market rent and the impact of lease termination fees. We exclude straight-line rent, amortization of lease inducements and above/below market rent in calculating SS NOI because we believe it provides a better measure of actual cash basis rental growth for a year-over-year comparison. In addition, we believe that SS NOI helps the investing public compare the operating performance of a company’s real estate as compared to other companies. While SS NOI is a relevant and widely used measure of operating performance of real estate investment trusts, it does not represent cash flow from operations or net income as defined by GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to those measures in evaluating our liquidity or operating performance. SS NOI also does not reflect general and administrative expense, acquisition costs, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, impairment charges, equity in income and loss from joint ventures, income tax benefit and expense, sale of real estate, mark-to-market and settlement loss on interest rate protection agreements, capital expenditures and leasing costs, or trends in development and construction activities that could materially impact our results from operations. Further, our computation of SS NOI may not be comparable to that of other real estate companies, as they may use different methodologies for calculating SS NOI.