<PAGE>

                                                                   Exhibit 10.55

                               MULTIFAMILY NOTE

US $35,000,000.00                                       As of September 2000

     FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the undersigned ("Borrower") jointly and severally (if
more than one) promises to pay to the order of PRUDENTIAL MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE,
INC., a Delaware corporation, the principal sum of Thirty-Five Million and
00/100 Dollars (US $35,000,000.00), with interest on the unpaid principal
balance at the annual rate of seven and three hundred seventy-five thousandths
percent (7.375%).

     1.   Defined Terms. As used in this Note, (i) the term "Lender" means the
holder of this Note, and (ii) the term "Indebtedness" means the principal of,
interest on, or any other amounts due at any time under, this Note, the Security
Instrument or any other Loan Document, including prepayment premiums, late
charges, default interest, and advances to protect the security of the Security
Instrument under Section 12 of the Security Instrument. Event of Default, Key
Principal and other capitalized terms used but not defined in this Note shall
have the meanings given to such terms in the Security Instrument (as defined in
Paragraph 5).

     2.   Address for Payment. All payments due under this Note shall be payable
at 1593 Spring Hill Road, Suite 400, Vienna, Virginia 22182, or such other place
as may be designated by written notice to Borrower from or on behalf of Lender.

     3.   Payment of Principal and Interest. Principal and interest shall be
paid as follows:

     (a)  Unless disbursement of principal is made by Lender to Borrower on the
first day of the month, interest for the period beginning on the date of
disbursement and ending on and including the last day of the month in which such
disbursement is made shall be payable simultaneously with the execution of this
Note. Interest under this Note shall be computed on the basis of a 360-day year
consisting of twelve 30-day months.

     (b)  Consecutive monthly installments of principal and interest, each in
the amount of Two Hundred Forty-One Thousand Seven Hundred Thirty-Six and 30/100
Dollars (US $241,736.30), shall be payable on the first day of each month
beginning on November 1, 2000, until the entire unpaid principal balance
evidenced by this Note is fully paid. Any accrued interest remaining past due
for 30 days or more shall be added to and become part of the unpaid principal
balance and shall bear interest at the rate or rates specified in this Note, and
any reference below to "accrued interest" shall refer to accrued interest which
has not become part of the unpaid principal balance. Any remaining principal and
interest shall be due and payable on October 1, 2010 or on any earlier date on
which the unpaid principal balance of this Note becomes due and payable, by
acceleration or otherwise (the "Maturity Date"). The unpaid principal balance
shall continue to bear interest after the Maturity Date at the Default Rate set
forth in this Note until and including the date on which it is paid in full.

     (c)  Any regularly scheduled monthly installment of principal and interest
that is received by Lender before the date it is due shall be deemed to have
been received on the due date solely for the purpose of calculating interest
due.

     4.   Application of Payments. If at any time Lender receives, from Borrower
or otherwise, any amount applicable to the Indebtedness which is less than all
amounts due and payable at such time, Lender may apply that payment to amounts
then due and payable in any manner and in any order determined by Lender, in
Lender's discretion. Borrower agrees that neither Lender's acceptance of a
payment from Borrower in an amount that is less than all

                                                                          Page 1
<PAGE>

amounts then due and payable nor Lender's application of such payment shall
constitute or be deemed to constitute either a waiver of the unpaid amounts or
an accord and satisfaction. If Lender accepts a guaranty of only a portion of
the Indebtedness, Borrower hereby waives its right under California Civil Code
Section 2822(a) to designate the portion of the Indebtedness which shall be
satisfied by any guarantor's partial payment.

     5.   Security. The Indebtedness is secured, among other things, by a
Multifamily Deed of Trust, Assignment of Rents, Security Agreement and Fixture
Filing (California) dated as of the date of this Note (the "Security
Instrument"), and reference is made to the Security Instrument for other rights
of Lender concerning the collateral for the Indebtedness.

     6.   Acceleration. If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing,
the entire unpaid principal balance, any accrued interest, the prepayment
premium payable under Paragraph 10, if any, and all other amounts payable under
this Note and any other Loan Document shall at once become due and payable, at
the option of Lender, without any prior notice to Borrower. Lender may exercise
this option to accelerate regardless of any prior forbearance.

     7.   Late Charge. If any monthly amount payable under this Note or under
the Security Instrument or any other Loan Document is not received by Lender
within 10 days after the amount is due, Borrower shall pay to Lender,
immediately and without demand by Lender, a late charge equal to 5 percent of
such amount. Borrower acknowledges that its failure to make timely payments will
cause Lender to incur additional expenses in servicing and processing the loan
evidenced by this Note (the "Loan"), and that it is extremely difficult and
impractical to determine those additional expenses. Borrower agrees that the
late charge payable pursuant to this Paragraph represents a fair and reasonable
estimate, taking into account all circumstances existing on the date of this
Note, of the additional expenses Lender will incur by reason of such late
payment. The late charge is payable in addition to, and not in lieu of, any
interest payable at the Default Rate pursuant to Paragraph 8.

     8.   Default Rate. So long as any monthly installment or any other payment
due under this Note remains past due for 30 days or more, interest under this
Note shall accrue on the unpaid principal balance from the earlier of the due
date of the first unpaid monthly installment or other payment due, as
applicable, at a rate (the "Default Rate") equal to the lesser of 4 percentage
points above the rate stated in the first paragraph of this Note or the maximum
interest rate which may be collected from Borrower under applicable law. If the
unpaid principal balance and all accrued interest are not paid in full on the
Maturity Date, the unpaid principal balance and all accrued interest shall bear
interest from the Maturity Date at the Default Rate. Borrower also acknowledges
that its failure to make timely payments will cause Lender to incur additional
expenses in servicing and processing the Loan, that, during the time that any
monthly installment or other payment under this Note is delinquent for more than
30 days, Lender will incur additional costs and expenses arising from its loss
of the use of the money due and from the adverse impact on Lender's ability to
meet its other obligations and to take advantage of other investment
opportunities, and that it is extremely difficult and impractical to determine
those additional costs and expenses. Borrower also acknowledges that, during the
time that any monthly installment or other payment due under this Note is
delinquent for more than 30 days, Lender's risk of nonpayment of this Note will
be materially increased and Lender is entitled to be compensated for such
increased risk. Borrower agrees that the increase in the rate of interest
payable under this Note to the Default Rate represents a fair and reasonable
estimate, taking into account all circumstances existing on the date of this
Note, of the additional costs and expenses Lender will incur by reason of the
Borrower's delinquent payment and the additional compensation Lender is entitled
to receive for the increased risks of nonpayment associated with a delinquent
loan.

                                                                          Page 2
<PAGE>

     9.   Limits on Personal Liability.

     (a)  Except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph 9, Borrower shall have
no personal liability under this Note, the Security Instrument or any other Loan
Document for the repayment of the Indebtedness or for the performance of any
other obligations of Borrower under the Loan Documents, and Lender's only
recourse for the satisfaction of the Indebtedness and the performance of such
obligations shall be Lender's exercise of its rights and remedies with respect
to the Mortgaged Property and any other collateral held by Lender as security
for the Indebtedness. This limitation on Borrower's liability shall not limit or
impair Lender's enforcement of its rights against any guarantor of the
Indebtedness or any guarantor of any obligations of Borrower.

     (b)  Borrower shall be personally liable to Lender for the repayment of a
portion of the Indebtedness equal to any loss or damage suffered by Lender as a
result of (1) failure of Borrower to pay to Lender upon demand after an Event of
Default, all Rents to which Lender is entitled under Section 3(a) of the
Security Instrument and the amount of all security deposits collected by
Borrower from tenants then in residence; (2) failure of Borrower to apply all
insurance proceeds and condemnation proceeds as required by the Security
Instrument; (3) failure of Borrower to comply with Section 14(d) or (e) of the
Security Instrument relating to the delivery of books and records, statements,
schedules and reports; (4) fraud or written material misrepresentation by
Borrower, Key Principal or any officer, director, partner, member or employee of
Borrower in connection with the application for or creation of the Indebtedness
or any request for any action or consent by Lender; or (5) failure to apply
Rents, first, to the payment of reasonable operating expenses (other than
Property management fees that are not currently payable pursuant to the terms of
an Assignment of Management Agreement or any other agreement with Lender
executed in connection with the Loan) and then to amounts ("Debt Service
Amounts") payable under this Note, the Security Instrument or any other Loan
Document (except that Borrower will not be personally liable (i) to the extent
that Borrower lacks the legal right to direct the disbursement of such sums
because of a bankruptcy, receivership or similar judicial proceeding, or (ii)
with respect to Rents that are distributed in any calendar year if Borrower has
paid all operating expenses and Debt Service Amounts for that calendar year).

     (c)  Borrower shall become personally liable to Lender for the repayment of
all of the Indebtedness upon the occurrence of any of the following Events of
Default: (1) Borrower's acquisition of any property or operation of any business
not permitted by Section 33 of the Security Instrument; or (2) a Transfer that
is an Event of Default under Section 21 of the Security Instrument.

     (d)  To the extent that Borrower has personal liability under this
Paragraph 9, Lender may exercise its rights against Borrower personally without
regard to whether Lender has exercised any rights against the Mortgaged Property
or any other security, or pursued any rights against any guarantor, or pursued
any other rights available to Lender under this Note, the Security Instrument,
any other Loan Document or applicable law. If Borrower is a married person, then
Borrower agrees that Lender may look to all of Borrower's community property and
separate property to satisfy Borrower's recourse obligations under this
Paragraph 9. For purposes of this Paragraph 9, the term "Mortgaged Property"
shall not include any funds that (1) have been applied by Borrower as required
or permitted by the Security Instrument prior to the occurrence of an Event of
Default, or (2) Borrower was unable to apply as required or permitted by the
Security Instrument because of a bankruptcy, receivership, or similar judicial
proceeding.

                                                                          Page 3
<PAGE>

     10.  Voluntary and Involuntary Prepayments.

     (a)  A prepayment premium shall be payable in connection with any
prepayment made under this Note as provided below:

          (1) Borrower may voluntarily prepay all (but not less than all) of the
     unpaid principal balance of this Note on the last Business Day of a
     calendar month if Borrower has given Lender at least 30 days prior notice
     of its intention to make such prepayment. Such prepayment shall be made by
     paying (A) the amount of principal being prepaid, (B) all accrued interest,
     (C) all other sums due Lender at the time of such prepayment, and (D) the
     prepayment premium calculated pursuant to Schedule A. For all purposes,
     including the accrual of interest, any prepayment received by Lender on any
     day other than the last calendar day of the month shall be deemed to have
     been received on the last calendar day of such month. For purposes of this
     Note, a "Business Day" means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or any
     other day on which Lender is not open for business.

          (2) Upon Lender's exercise of any right of acceleration under this
     Note, Borrower shall pay to Lender, in addition to the entire unpaid
     principal balance of this Note outstanding at the time of the acceleration,
     (A) all accrued interest and all other sums due Lender under this Note and
     the other Loan Documents, and (B) the prepayment premium calculated
     pursuant to Schedule A.

          (3) Any application by Lender of any collateral or other security to
     the repayment of any portion of the unpaid principal balance of this Note
     prior to the Maturity Date and in the absence of acceleration shall be
     deemed to be a partial prepayment by Borrower, requiring the payment to
     Lender by Borrower of a prepayment premium. The amount of any such partial
     prepayment shall be computed so as to provide to Lender a prepayment
     premium computed pursuant to Schedule A without Borrower having to pay out-
     of-pocket any additional amounts.

     (b)  Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph 10(a), no prepayment
premium shall be payable with respect to (A) any prepayment made no more than 90
days before the Maturity Date, or (B) any prepayment occurring as a result of
the application of any insurance proceeds or condemnation award under the
Security Instrument.

     (c)  Schedule A is hereby incorporated by reference into this Note.

     (d)  Any required prepayment of less than the unpaid principal balance of
this Note shall not extend or postpone the due date of any subsequent monthly
installments or change the amount of such installments, unless Lender agrees
otherwise in writing.

     (e)  Borrower recognizes that any prepayment of the unpaid principal
balance of this Note, whether voluntary or involuntary or resulting from a
default by Borrower, will result in Lender's incurring loss, including
reinvestment loss, additional expense and frustration or impairment of Lender's
ability to meet its commitments to third parties. Borrower agrees to pay to
Lender upon demand damages for the detriment caused by any prepayment, and
agrees that it is extremely difficult and impractical to ascertain the extent of
such damages. Borrower therefore acknowledges and agrees that the formula for
calculating prepayment premiums set forth on Schedule A represents a reasonable
estimate of the damages Lender will incur because of a prepayment.

     (f)  Borrower further acknowledges that the prepayment premium provisions
of this Note are a material part of the consideration for the Loan, and
acknowledges that the terms of this Note are in other respects more favorable to
Borrower as a result of the Borrower's voluntary agreement to the prepayment
premium provisions.

                                                                          Page 4
<PAGE>

     11.  Costs and Expenses. Borrower shall pay on demand all expenses and
costs, including fees and out-of-pocket expenses of attorneys and expert
witnesses and costs of investigation, incurred by Lender as a result of any
default under this Note or in connection with efforts to collect any amount due
under this Note, or to enforce the provisions of any of the other Loan
Documents, including those incurred in post-judgment collection efforts and in
any bankruptcy proceeding (including any action for relief from the automatic
stay of any bankruptcy proceeding) or judicial or non-judicial foreclosure
proceeding.

     12.  Forbearance. Any forbearance by Lender in exercising any right or
remedy under this Note, the Security Instrument, or any other Loan Document or
otherwise afforded by applicable law, shall not be a waiver of or preclude the
exercise of that or any other right or remedy. The acceptance by Lender of any
payment after the due date of such payment, or in an amount which is less than
the required payment, shall not be a waiver of Lender's right to require prompt
payment when due of all other payments or to exercise any right or remedy with
respect to any failure to make prompt payment. Enforcement by Lender of any
security for Borrower's obligations under this Note shall not constitute an
election by Lender of remedies so as to preclude the exercise of any other right
or remedy available to Lender.

     13.  Waivers. Presentment, demand, notice of dishonor, protest, notice of
acceleration, notice of intent to demand or accelerate payment or maturity,
presentment for payment, notice of nonpayment, grace, and diligence in
collecting the Indebtedness are waived by Borrower, Key Principal, and all
endorsers and guarantors of this Note and all other third party obligors.

     14.  Loan Charges. If any applicable law limiting the amount of interest or
other charges permitted to be collected from Borrower in connection with the
Loan is interpreted so that any interest or other charge provided for in any
Loan Document, whether considered separately or together with other charges
provided for in any other Loan Document, violates that law, and Borrower is
entitled to the benefit of that law, that interest or charge is hereby reduced
to the extent necessary to eliminate that violation. The amounts, if any,
previously paid to Lender in excess of the permitted amounts shall be applied by
Lender to reduce the unpaid principal balance of this Note. For the purpose of
determining whether any applicable law limiting the amount of interest or other
charges permitted to be collected from Borrower has been violated, all
Indebtedness that constitutes interest, as well as all other charges made in
connection with the Indebtedness that constitute interest, shall be deemed to be
allocated and spread ratably over the stated term of the Note. Unless otherwise
required by applicable law, such allocation and spreading shall be effected in
such a manner that the rate of interest so computed is uniform throughout the
stated term of the Note.

     15.  Commercial Purpose. Borrower represents that the Indebtedness is being
incurred by Borrower solely for the purpose of carrying on a business or
commercial enterprise, and not for personal, family or household purposes.

     16.  Counting of Days. Except where otherwise specifically provided, any
reference in this Note to a period of "days" means calendar days, not Business
Days.

     17.  Governing Law. This Note shall be governed by the law of the
jurisdiction in which the Land is located.

     18.  Captions. The captions of the paragraphs of this Note are for
convenience only and shall be disregarded in construing this Note.

     19.  Notices. All notices, demands and other communications required or
permitted to be given by Lender to Borrower pursuant to this Note shall be given
in accordance with Section 31 of the Security Instrument.

                                                                          Page 5
<PAGE>

     20.  Consent to Jurisdiction and Venue. Borrower and Key Principal each
agrees that any controversy arising under or in relation to this Note shall be
litigated exclusively in the jurisdiction in which the Land is located (the
"Property Jurisdiction"). The state and federal courts and authorities with
jurisdiction in the Property Jurisdiction shall have exclusive jurisdiction over
all controversies which shall arise under or in relation to this Note. Borrower
and Key Principal each irrevocably consents to service, jurisdiction, and venue
of such courts for any such litigation and waives any other venue to which it
might be entitled by virtue of domicile, habitual residence or otherwise.

     21.  WAIVER OF TRIAL BY JURY. BORROWER, KEY PRINCIPAL AND LENDER EACH (A)
AGREES NOT TO ELECT A TRIAL BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO ANY ISSUE ARISING OUT OF
THIS NOTE OR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PARTIES, AS LENDER, KEY PRINCIPAL AND
BORROWER, THAT IS TRIABLE OF RIGHT BY A JURY AND (B) WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO TRIAL
BY JURY WITH RESPECT TO SUCH ISSUE TO THE EXTENT THAT ANY SUCH RIGHT EXISTS NOW
OR IN THE FUTURE. THIS WAIVER OF RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IS SEPARATELY GIVEN BY
EACH PARTY, KNOWINGLY AND VOLUNTARILY WITH THE BENEFIT OF COMPETENT LEGAL
COUNSEL.

     ATTACHED SCHEDULES. The following Schedules are attached to this Note:

        [X]    Schedule A     Prepayment Premium (required)

        [X]    Schedule B     Modifications to Multifamily Note

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Borrower has signed and delivered this Note or has
caused this Note to be signed and delivered by its duly authorized
representative.

                              BORROWER:


                              BRE PROPERTIES, INC., a Maryland
                                corporation



                              By: /s/ Edward F. Lange Jr.
                                  ---------------------------------
                                  Executive Vice President & Chief Financial
                                  Officer


                              94-1722214
                              ----------------------------------------------
                              Borrower's Social Security/Employer ID Number

                                                                          Page 6
<PAGE>

                              PAY TO THE ORDER OF ___________________
                              _________________, WITHOUT RECOURSE.

                              PRUDENTIAL MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE,
                                INC., a Delaware corporation



                              By: /s/ Sharon D. Singleton
                                  ---------------------------------
                                  Vice President


Fannie Mae Loan Number:  _________________

                                                                          Page 7
<PAGE>

                                  SCHEDULE A

                              PREPAYMENT PREMIUM

     Any prepayment premium payable under Paragraph 10 of this Note shall be
computed as follows:

     (a)  If the prepayment is made during the first 9.5 years beginning on the
          date of the Note (the "Yield Maintenance Period"), the prepayment
          premium shall be the greater of:

               (i)  1% of the unpaid principal balance of this Note; or

               (ii) The product obtained by multiplying:

                    (A)  the amount of principal being prepaid,

                    by

                    (B)  the difference obtained by subtracting from the
                         interest rate on this Note the yield rate (the "Yield
                         Rate") on the 5.75% U.S. Treasury Security due August
                         2010 (the "Specified U.S. Treasury Security"), as the
                         Yield Rate is reported in The Wall Street Journal on
                         the fifth Business Day preceding (x) the date notice of
                         prepayment is given to Lender where prepayment is
                         voluntary, or (y) the date Lender accelerates the Loan,

                    by

                    (C)  the present value factor calculated using the following
                         formula:

                              1 - (1 + r)/-n/
                              ---------------
                                   r
                              [r = Yield Rate
                               n = the number of 365-day years (or 366-day
                              years, if applicable), and any fraction thereof,
                              remaining between the Prepayment Date and the
                              expiration of the Yield Maintenance Period]

                                                                          Page 8
<PAGE>

                         In the event that no Yield Rate is published for the
                         Specified U.S. Treasury Security, then the nearest
                         equivalent U.S. Treasury Security shall be selected at
                         Lender's discretion. If the publication of such Yield
                         Rates in The Wall Street Journal is discontinued,
                         Lender shall determine such Yield Rates from another
                         source selected by Lender.

                         For purposes of subparagraph (ii)(C), the "Prepayment
                         Date" shall be (x) in the case of a voluntary
                         prepayment, the date on which the prepayment is made,
                         and (y) in any other case, the date on which Lender
                         accelerates the unpaid principal balance of this Note.

     (b)  If the prepayment is made after the expiration of the Yield
          Maintenance Period but more than 90 days before the Maturity Date, the
          prepayment premium shall be 1% of the unpaid principal balance of this
          Note.



                              _____________________________
                              INITIALS

                                                                          Page 9
<PAGE>

                                  SCHEDULE B

                       MODIFICATIONS TO MULTIFAMILY NOTE


     The Multifamily Note dated as of September 28, 2000, in the original
principal amount of $35,000,000.00 (the "Note") issued by BRE PROPERTIES, INC.,
a Maryland corporation ("Borrower") and payable to the order of PRUDENTIAL
MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE, INC., a Delaware corporation ("Lender") is hereby amended
as follows:

      1.  The last sentence of Paragraph 3(a) of the Note is hereby deleted and
  the following new sentence is inserted in lieu thereof:

          "Interest shall be computed on basis of a 360-day year."

      2.  The following new sentence is hereby added to the end of Paragraph
  3(b) of the Note :

          "The amount of each monthly payment made by Borrower pursuant to this
          Paragraph 3(b) that is allocated to interest will be based on the
          actual number of calendar days during such month and shall be
          calculated by multiplying the unpaid principal balance of this Note by
          the per annum interest rate, dividing the product by 360 and
          multiplying the quotient by the actual number of days elapsed during
          the month. Borrower understands that the amount allocated to interest
          for each month will vary depending on the actual number of calendar
          days during such month."

                              ________________________________
                              INITIALS

                                                                         Page 10