Exhibit 99.1

For details contact:
Larry Thede
Phone (720)283-2450
E-mail: ir@udrt.com
www.udrt.com

PRESS RELEASE

Option Exercised To Purchase Additional $50 Million of
United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc. Convertible Senior Notes

RICHMOND, VA (December 23, 2005) United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: UDR) today announced that the initial purchaser of the previously announced private placement of the Company’s $200 million convertible senior notes due 2035 with a coupon of 4.0%, has exercised its option to purchase additional notes, aggregating $50 million. The issuance of the additional notes will bring the total aggregate principal amount of the notes outstanding to $250 million.

The additional notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the additional notes to repay outstanding debt under its unsecured revolving bank credit facility, which re-prices monthly based on changes in LIBOR, and is currently floating at 4.47%.

The additional notes will be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. The notes and the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the notes have not been registered under the Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws. This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy any of these securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer/solicitation or sale is unlawful.

About United Dominion Realty Trust, Inc.

United Dominion is the fourth largest apartment REIT, owning and operating apartment communities nationwide. The Company has a 32-year history during which it has raised the dividend each of the last 29 years. United Dominion is included in the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company currently owns 74,954 apartment homes and has 1,335 homes currently under development. 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. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the Company’s use of words such as, “expects,” “plans,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “believes,” and similar expressions that do not relate to historical matters. 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, the impact of competition and competitive pricing, acquisitions or new developments not achieving anticipated results, the expectation that approximately 50% of projected 2005 net operating income will come from California, Florida and Metropolitan Washington D.C., delays in completing developments and lease-ups on schedule, 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. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of today, based upon information known to management as of the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any of its forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes show that indicated results or events will not be realized.