Avalon: Wins Industry Award AvalonBay Wins Prestigious Pillars of the Industry Award for Third Consecutive Year (Alexandria, VA) AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE/PCX Symbol: AVB) announced today that it's historic Brookline, Massachusetts community, Longwood Towers, was named both Best Mid or High Rise Apartment Community and Best Multifamily Rehabilitation, while Cedar Ridge in Daly City, California was named a finalist in Best Existing Asset Turnaround, by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) under the NAHB's highly competitive and prestigious "Pillars of the Industry" awards program. This marks the third consecutive year AvalonBay has earned top honors for Best Mid or High Rise Apartment Community. Accepting the awards for AvalonBay were Matthew Gendron, Senior Project Manager and William McLaughlin, Vice President of Development. The Pillars of the Industry Awards program is conducted annually to recognize companies that demonstrate the highest standards in multifamily housing design and management, and who promote a positive image of the multifamily housing industry. A panel of 11 industry professionals who judged the award selected this year's winners from more than 200 entries submitted nationally. In making their selection of Longwood Towers, the judges cited AvalonBay's success in preserving the historic community's charm and ambiance, while bringing the property into the 21st century. In addition, the judges acknowledged the challenges which the development team faced in completely replacing all major building systems and adding 26 new apartment homes, while maintaining a very high occupancy level. Longwood Towers was originally built in the 1920's. AvalonBay significantly renovated the interiors and exteriors of the three eight-story brick English Tudor towers, in addition to adding 26 new apartment homes to the communities original 250. The renovation program included new electrical, HVAC and fire suppression systems, updated common areas and apartment interiors, extensive building facade restoration, as well as new amenities and landscaping. Commenting on Longwood Towers' recognition, Development Vice President William McLaughlin noted "the successful expansion and redevelopment of this storied community faced a series of challenges which only a focused team effort could overcome. My hat is off not only to the AvalonBay associates who led this complicated undertaking, but also to our talented and creative design team, to the officials in the Town of Brookline, whose professionalism and flexibility were greatly appreciated, and to our residents, whose patience and feedback were essential to our success. We are honored to have Longwood Towers recognized by the NAHB." Founded in 1942, the National Association of Home Builders is a federation of 850 state and local associations throughout the United States. The NAHB also represents 197,000 member companies. For information on NAHB's Pillars of the Industry Awards, contact NAHB's Multifamily Council at (202) 822-0215. AvalonBay, named the NAHB Development Company of the year for 1998/1999 and the Property Management Company of the Year for 1996/1997, currently owns or holds an ownership interest in 137 apartment communities containing 39,996 apartment homes in sixteen states and the District of Columbia, of which thirteen communities are under construction and twelve communities are under reconstruction. AvalonBay is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing multifamily apartment communities in high barrier-to-entry markets of the United States. More information on AvalonBay may be found on AvalonBay's Web Site at http://www.avalonbay.com. For additional information, please contact Richard L. Michaux, President and Chief Executive Officer at (703) 317-4602 or Bryce Blair, Chief Operating Officer at (617) 847-1250. Ends.