Businessweek

AvalonBay Communities, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), engages in the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership and operation of multifamily communities in the United States. The company’s markets are located in New England, the New York/New Jersey metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northern and Southern California regions of the United States. As of January 31, 2009, the company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in: 164 operating apartment communities containing 45,728 apartment homes in 10 states and the District of Columbia, of which seven wholly owned communities containing 2,143 apartment homes were under redevelopment; and 19 communities containing 3,829 apartment homes, of which two communities containing 467 apartment homes were under redevelopment, were held by AvalonBay Value Added Fund, L.P., which it managed and in which it owned a 15.2% equity interest; 14 communities under construction that are expected to contain an aggregate of 4,564 apartment homes when completed; and rights to develop an additional 27 communities that would contain an estimated 7,304 apartment homes. REIT Tax Status The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes. It generally would not be subject to federal corporate income tax, if it distributes approximately 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. History AvalonBay Communities, Inc. was founded in 1978.