BETHESDA, MD-First Potomac Realty Trust reports it has expanded its Board of Trustees and appointed Thomas E. Robinson, a senior advisor to real estate investment banking firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc., to its Board of Trustees.

Robinson has an extensive real estate experience, having previously served as managing director of St. Louis-based Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Prior to that position, he served as the president and chief financial officer of Storage USA, Inc., and is a former member of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). Robinson currently serves on the board of directors of BRE Properties, Inc., as well as Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. He is a former trustee of Centerpoint Properties Trust and former director of Legg Mason Real Estate Investors, Inc.

"We are excited to have Tom join our board of trustees," states Douglas Donatelli, chairman and CEO of First Potomac Realty Trust. "I've known Tom for a number of years and believe his background, experience and knowledge will help First Potomac as we continue to grow our company. He has been instrumental in a variety of strategic and capital initiatives for several companies in the REIT industry, and we look forward to his contributions as we continue to execute on the strategic and capital plan we laid out earlier this year."

On Thursday, First Potomac in its second quarter financial filing reported that the company sold 24 industrial properties in the second quarter that comprised the majority of its industrial portfolio and consisted of approximately 4.3 million square feet. A total of 2.6 million square feet of the disposed industrial properties are located in Southern Virginia. The aggregate sales price of the disposition, which consisted of two separate transactions, was $259 million.