Product Profile: AvalonBay
INDUSTRY
housing
Category
apartment management and development
product Profiled
apartments managed by AvalonBay Communities, including the Avalon, AVA, eaves and Kanso lines
H-Score
63
ranked 7th of 13 within the housing industry
ranked 16th of 76 overall
product description
AvalonBay Communities is a real estate investment trust that owns 275 apartment communities, representing more than 80,000 apartments, across several regions of the US.
who’s affected
AvalonBay’s target markets vary by the line of apartments: Avalon focuses on “upscale apartment living” and “high-end amenities;” AVA aims at a younger demographic by focusing on smaller apartments and roommate living, eaves aims for value-conscious suburban residents and Kanso offers rentals at a moderate price point (1). Fifty-seven (57) percent of apartment renters in the US have household incomes of less than $50,000 per year (2).
influence on health-related behaviors
EATING
neutral influence
Proximity to grocery stores with healthy food options can positively influence eating habits. One metric of a neighborhood’s food environment is whether it is characterized by the USDA as “low access to food stores.(3)” In a sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, 37% were in low-access neighborhoods.
- Review the food environment – both access to fresh foods and prevalence of unhealthy food outlets – as part of the decision of where to locate future properties. Use the potential of aggregated demand that a new apartment property would create to encourage investment in local fresh food outlets like grocery stores.
- Facilitate home cooking through:
- experimentation with provision of indoor hydroponic gardening appliances
- establishment of community gardens within properties
- partnerships to provide discounted memberships to local community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms
- partnerships to provide discounted grocery delivery services or meal kit subscriptions
- experimentation with the promotion of food sharing apps to help residents share excess groceries
PHYSICAL ACTVITY
slight to moderate negative influence
The walkability of a geographic location has an influence on the physical activity of its residents. In a sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, approximately 53% were in neighborhoods rated as “very walkable” or better by Walk Score.(4) Twenty-seven (27) percent of locations were in neighborhoods rated “car-dependent” by Walk Score. Mean Walk Score was 66.7; the median was 70.5. A higher Walk Score rating for a given neighborhood has been associated with increased physical activity among neighborhood residents.(5)
AvalonBay noted in its 2021 ESG Report that it had recently completed three “transit-oriented developments,” i.e. apartments located near public transit and that the average Walk Score for all of its transit-oriented developments was 81.(6) As of its 2022 ESG report, AvalonBay has 114 transit-oriented development communities.(7) In addition, according to AvalonBay, approximately 25% of their communities feature a mixed-use component with ground floor retail or commercial space, which can promote walking within the neighborhood.(8)
AvalonBay provides a number of amenities that facilitate physical activity in their communities. They offer fitness centers at 96% of a sample of apartment communities reviewed by Building H, swimming pools at 75%, and bike storage facilities at 39% of their communities.
- Review the walkability, bikeability and access to transit of a neighborhood as part of the decision to build or buy in a certain neighborhood. Use the potential of aggregated demand that a new apartment property would create to advocate for and encourage investment in sidewalks and bike lanes, if not already available.
- Publish data on the walkability, bikeability, and access to transit of property locations.
- Provide bike sharing and scooter sharing services at properties.
- Provide bike storage and bike repair facilities at more of its properties.
- Provide amenities such as fitness centers, playgrounds, swimming pools, parks and walking paths at even more of its properties.
Sleeping
neutral influence
There is no indication that AvalonBay does anything in the design of their properties to enhance their residents’ sleep experiences.
To the extent that AvalonBay’s locations and property designs influence physical activity and time spent outdoors, they could indirectly influence sleep as both of those behaviors are positively correlated with better sleep.
- Promote healthy circadian rhythms by installing circadian LED lighting systems that adjust color temperature to mimic natural light throughout the day.
- Monitor indoor air quality, as it has shown to influence sleep(9) and mitigate where it is poor.
- Provide smart thermostats and appropriate instructions in order to optimize nighttime temperatures for better sleep.
- Use soundproofing and other acoustic design techniques, such as sound-absorbing materials, to reduce noise that could interfere with sleep.
Engaging Socially
slight to moderate positive influence
AvalonBay offers amenities at many of its properties that can facilitate social interactions among its residents. These include lounges or other social gathering areas (in 71% of a sample of communities reviewed by Building H), swimming pools (75%) and outdoor grills (86%).
AvalonBay announced a partnership with SecondSpace to pilot co-working spaces in a small number of AvalonBay communities.(10) This approach offers a more social work-from-home experience than working from one’s own apartment.
- Engage with residents to understand social interests and develop social programming to foster social interaction and bonding over common interests.
- Offer indoor and outdoor common spaces – such as lounges, clubhouses, playgrounds, swimming pools, sports fields/courts and outdoor cooking facilities – that facilitate both planned community events and casual social interactions among neighbors at even more of its properties.
- Offer an app for residents to engage with each other and to coordinate plans.
- Experiment with buddy programs, where longtime residents welcome new residents and help them get situated.
- Create arbitration/mitigation plans for neighbor disputes.
Getting Outdoors
slight positive influence
Neighborhood walkability is a key driver of spending time outdoors. The walkability of AvalonBay’s locations (discussed above in physical activity) has an influence on how much time its residents spend outdoors.
Access to public parks can also encourage people to go outdoors. In the sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, 67% were within a 10-minute walk from a public park.(11)
The natural environment around one’s home can influence how much time people spend outdoors. In the sample of AvalonBay locations reviewed by Building H, 33% were rated “Nature Rich” or “Nature Utopia” by NatureQuant, an organization that characterizes the natural environment around any location.(12) Fifty-three (53) of AvalonBay’s locations were rated “Nature Light” or “Nature Deficient.” Mean NatureScore was 43.3; the median score 32.2. A higher NatureScore for a given neighborhood has not been directly correlated with more time spent outdoors by its residents, but it has been correlated with many improvements in health outcomes that are consistent with more time spent in nature.(13)
AvalonBay offers a number of amenities that can facilitate outdoor activities. These include playgrounds (in 39% of a sample of communities reviewed by Building H), outdoor grills (86%) and bike storage facilities (39%).
- Pursue opportunities noted above related to neighborhood walkability, bikeability and access to transit.
- Pursue opportunities noted above related to outdoor amenities such as playgrounds, community gardens and walking paths.
Notes
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. 2022 Annual Report, p. 2.
Household Incomes. National Multifamily Housing Council website, accessed November 10, 2023.
The “low-access to food” designation means that a significant portion of residents of the Census tract are more than one mile (if urban) or more than 10 miles (if rural) from the nearest supermarket or large grocery store. See U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. Food Access Research Atlas: Measuring Access to Food.
Walk Score is a methodology for assessing the walkability of a location, using a proprietary algorithm that factors in walking proximity to amenities and pedestrian friendliness. Walk Score is based on a scale of 0-100. Locations scoring 49 or under are considered “car-dependent;” Locations scoring 70 or more are rated “very walkable.” Those scoring 90 and above are labeled “walker’s paradise.” See https://www.walkscore.com/methodology.shtml for more on the Walk Score methodology.
Erica Twardzik et al. Walk Score and objectively measured physical activity within a national cohort. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Volume 73, Issue 6 (June 2019), pp. 549-556.
AvalonBay Communities. Creating a Better Way to Live for People, Places and the Planet: 2021 ESG Report. p. 51
AvalonBay Communities. Creating a Better Way to Live for People, Places and the Planet: 2022 ESG Report. p. 45
AvalonBay Communities 2022 ESG Report.
Jianhong Liu et al. Air pollution exposure and adverse sleep health across the life course: A systematic review. Environmental Pollution. Volume 262 (July 2020).
Joseph Pimentel. Coworking hubs coming to apartment communities near you. SpectrumNews1. September 26, 2022.
Based on a geographical analysis using ParkServe, a tool provided by the Trust for Public Land.
NatureScore is a methodology for measuring the amount and quality of natural elements of any location developed by NatureQuant. NatureScores are on a 0-100 scale and are translated to descriptive assessments using the following code: 0-19.9: “Nature Deficient”; 20-39.9: “Nature Light”; 40-59.9: “Nature Adequate”; 60-79.9: “Nature Rich”; 80-100: “Nature Utopia.” See NatureQuant. Delivering Technology to Assess and Promote Nature Exposure. NatureQuant White Paper. 2020.
NatureQuant (2020).