United Dominion Realty Trust Adds Strength to Acquisition and Development Team.

Business Editors/Real Estate Writers

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2004

United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: UDR) announced today that Michael J. Kelly has joined the Company as Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and the promotion of Richard A. Giannotti to Executive Vice President.

"Mike brings to us more than a decade of experience in the area of real estate investments, and Richard has been leading renovation and property enhancement programs at United Dominion since 1985," stated Mark Wallis, Senior Executive Vice President of Acquisitions, Dispositions and Development. "Together with Mark Wood, Senior Vice President of Development, and Les Boeckel, Senior Vice President of Dispositions and Acquisitions, they will be working to continuously improve the quality of our portfolio, which directly improves the quality of our earnings."

Mike Kelly joins United Dominion from Philadelphia-based Urdang & Associates, Real Estate Advisors, where he served as Senior Vice President for 4 years and was responsible for the acquisition of more than 4,000 apartment homes and 21 different communities in 6 cities. In addition, he has managed major apartment redevelopment and turnaround financing strategies.

Kelly was also Principal of Lend Lease Real Estate Investments for one and a half years, President of Biscayne Capital Advisors, LLC for a year, Vice President/part owner of Apartment Realty Advisors, Inc. and General Partner of Southeast Capital Partners for five years.

A certified public accountant (CPA) since 1992, Kelly earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame. He is a licensed real estate broker in three states.

Kelly joins Senior Vice President of Dispositions and Acquisitions Les Boeckel, who also has a background in business and accounting, as well as more than 25 years of real estate experience. Boeckel joined United Dominion in 2001 from AIMCO where he worked for three years and was Vice President of Property Management. He previously was Vice President of Acquisitions at MIG Realty Advisors in Philadelphia, PA and Denver, CO for five years. He holds both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in business administration from The Pennsylvania State University.

A licensed architect and graduate of Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Giannotti joined United Dominion in 1985 and managed the Company's extensive renovation and property enhancement program for more than ten years. Throughout his tenure, his duties have been expansive, including the acquisition of approximately 9,800 apartment homes, as well as the designing, planning and construction of new apartment communities.

In his new Executive Vice President capacity, Giannotti will be managing the Company's newly formed Asset Quality program, which anticipates investments in 2004 of $50 to $100 million. He will be responsible for the direction of recurring capital expenditure asset preservation, acquisition communities' initial capital expenditures and insurance claims construction activity.

Another key player on the United Dominion development team is Mark E. Wood, Senior Vice President of Development. He joined the Company in 1994 and has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. Wood oversees development and construction efforts for the Company and currently has 1,311 homes under development in California and Texas. He has a bachelor's degree in construction management from Oklahoma University and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Dallas.

About United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc.

United Dominion is the fourth largest apartment REIT, owning and operating apartment communities nationwide. The Company has a thirty two-year history during which it has raised the dividend each of the last twenty-seven years. United Dominion is included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company currently owns 76,247 apartment homes and is the developer of 1,311 homes currently under development. United Dominion's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol UDR. Additional information about United Dominion may be found on its web site at www.udrt.com.

Statements contained in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements, as the term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which can cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated, due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, unfavorable changes in the apartment market, changing economic conditions, acquisitions or new developments may not achieve anticipated results, difficulties in selling existing apartment communities, and other risk factors discussed in documents filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information currently known to management, and the company disclaims any duty to update such statements.