Archstone was one of the largest investors, developers and operators of apartment communities in the United States. As of June 30, 2011, the company owned or had an ownership position in 434 communities located in the United States and Europe, representing 77,084 units, including units under construction. Nearly all of Archstone's portfolio is concentrated in large coastal cities, including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Boston.

On October 5, 2007, the firm was taken private in a US$22.2 billion acquisition by the private real estate builder-operator firm Tishman Speyer and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., in alliance with several major United States investment banks. On February 27, 2013, Equity Residential announced that it had closed a $9 billion deal to acquire Archstone from Lehman Brothers.

History

In 1946 Charles E. Smith founded The Charles E. Smith Companies, which then grew to become the largest real estate company in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.