AvalonBay Communities


AvalonBay Communities, Inc. is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in apartments.
As of January 31, 2020, the company owned 79,636 apartment units, all of which were in New England, the New York City metropolitan area, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Seattle, and California. It is the 3rd largest owner of apartments in the United States.

History

The company was formed by the 1998 merger between Avalon Properties Inc. and Bay Apartment Communities Inc. The merged company owned 40,506 apartment units. Avalon Properties was formed in 1993 as a spinoff from Trammell Crow Company and was led by Richard Michaux, as Chairman and CEO and Chuck Berman, President. Bay Apartment Communities was formed in 1994 from the apartment business established by Mike Meyer in 1978.
In February 2001, Bryce Blair was named CEO, and the additional role of Chairman in January 2002.
In 2003, the company sold $450 million in assets and reinvested the proceeds in its development pipeline.
In 2007, the company was added to the S&P 500 Index.
In 2011, Timothy J. Naughton was named CEO, and the additional role of chairman in January 2013.
On February 27, 2013, AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential closed a $9 billion deal to acquire Archstone from Lehman Brothers.
The company in 2017 had units in locations such as Denver, Colorado.
In 2017, a lawsuit was filed by former tenants of Avalon at Edgewater, an AvalonBay community in Edgewater, New Jersey, who allege that AvalonBay breached its duty of care by allegedly violating fire standards and safety procedures following a five-alarm fire at the community in 2015.