For JPI, it's the second consecutive year for the CEL & Associates honor, which hands out the plaque based on resident satisfaction surveys. JPI won for property owners with multifamily portfolios of 25 to 50 properties. Some 3,000 properties, representing in excess of 700,000 units nationwide, were surveyed for the annual competition.

Crescent's MacArthur Center and Waterside Commons, its class A holdings in Las Colinas, received the 2002 Crystal Apple Award by the Association of Texas Professional Educators for volunteer work at John R. Good Elementary School in Irving. In the past two years, FACES participants in the buildings spent more than 500 hours in the schools as volunteers and raised in excess of $6,000 in a silent auction. Part of the proceeds were used to buy broadcasting equipment to televise daily announcements to the 800-member student body.

The Crescent in the Dallas CBD was honored with an outstanding business partnership award by the Dallas Independent School District. The honor was accorded for the Crescent's community partnership with Sidney Lanier Elementary School. In addition to volunteer time, the REIT's flagship property's support has included such efforts as a silent auction that raised more than $10,000, with proceeds going for a playground for the inner city school. During the two years of partnering, donations have included office furniture, computers, printers and athletic equipment.