David Gillespie is senior vice president of development and Kurt Conway is senior vice president of corporate strategy at Arlington, Virginia-based AvalonBay Communities. Opinions are the authors' own.

In today’s housing market, renters often face an all-or-nothing choice between new, top-of-market apartments with lavish amenities or older communities with outdated features. What many want is a middle ground: an apartment home that offers modern, high-quality features without unnecessary extras that don’t align with their daily needs or their wallet.

AvalonBay Communities introduced Kanso in 2022 to fill this gap. Named after a Japanese principle that means simplicity or the elimination of clutter, Kanso focuses on offering high-end apartment homes with minimal community amenities and a technologically enabled service model — all of which allows us to offer new apartment homes at lower rents than the competition.

Since launching the brand, we have created three Kanso communities, including Kanso Milford, which recently opened its doors in a growing suburb outside downtown Boston. We’ve consistently seen this approach unlock more affordable, sought-after housing in some of the country’s most competitive rental markets.

Understanding your audience

At its core, Kanso’s value proposition is simple: provide renters with what they truly want — well-designed, functional spaces to live in. While most AvalonBay properties cater to amenity-rich preferences, not all renters prioritize these added conveniences or luxuries. For some, features like pools, fitness centers and lounges are underused or irrelevant to their daily experience.

Proactive customer research revealed that many renters seek new, high-quality apartments in well-connected urban or suburban locations without the extras. While many prefer a full suite of amenities at their doorstep, Kanso renters will forgo common spaces for more affordable apartment homes that don’t lack any in-unit features.

It is critical to deploy an always-on research and customer feedback strategy to understand the evolving needs and preferences of different segments of renters. The more you can align your product with what renters truly value, the more successful your project will be.

Building a brand

At AvalonBay, we know that a brand is most successful when its actions align with its values and customers’ expectations. For Kanso, that meant prioritizing simplicity, functionality and affordability while still offering quality.

We focused our investments on the apartment homes themselves, intentionally eliminating most community amenities — no fitness center, pool, lounges or rooftop decks. In turn, this allowed us to design a product with current, in-unit features and low maintenance needs, one that could deliver on the Kanso brand promise of “live simply without sacrifice.”

Successful branding is about understanding what matters most to your target demographic and making strategic design choices based on those insights. By focusing on the essential elements that enhance the day-to-day living experience, we’ve created a brand that is both distinct and relevant.

Driving efficiency

One of the most valuable lessons from Kanso is the importance of an integrated, cross-functional approach. Developing a product that meets both customer needs and operational goals required collaboration between development, design, operations, marketing, asset management, digital and many other teams. AvalonBay features each of these functions in house and this alignment was crucial in making Kanso a sustainable, long-term offering.

The resulting customer experience is designed with efficiency in mind. Kanso’s operations leverage technology to provide a seamless self-service experience. By using smart technology applications and a centralized service model, we are able to minimize on-site staffing. 

By pairing this technology with thoughtful design and shared staffing between our communities, we’ve minimized friction points during important moments like touring, moving in, maintenance service, receiving packages and managing parking.

With the right mix of technology and a thoughtful, efficient building layout, we built an experience that doesn’t require daily on-site staff but still provides residents with all the support they need. By reducing investment and operational costs we deliver on our brand promise of offering lower rent without compromising quality.

Multifamily development is a team effort. Bringing together insights from across critical functional groups ensures that every decision made benefits both your residents and your bottom line.

As renters continue to prioritize affordability and quality, the multifamily industry must adapt and innovate. The Kanso model targets an underserved customer segment and isn’t for everyone, as we’ve seen through the success of our other more amenitized brands. However, it filled a noticeable gap in the market and continues to prove that simplicity and value are not mutually exclusive.

By eliminating what some call “frills,” focusing on the essentials and leveraging technology and efficient design, we created highly desirable, alternative living spaces that meet the demands of today’s renter. The key to success in this market lies in understanding your audience, staying true to your brand promise and working collaboratively to leverage all team members’ unique perspectives and experiences to produce a unique and practical final product.

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