Back To The Milhaus Press Room

Milhaus Earns Double Honor at AAKC Crystal Merit Awards

Apartment Association of Kansas City recognizes local team for management excellence and giving back

Milhaus Kansas City wins Company Team Management of the Year and AAKC Gives. Awards honor significant contributions to the multifamily housing industry. Recognition reflects a company culture built on performance, people and community investment.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 20, 2026) – Milhaus, a national award-winning developer, owner, and operator of Class-A multifamily properties, earned two Crystal Merit Awards from the Apartment Association of Kansas City (AAKC). The AAKC presented the honors at the 29th Annual Crystal Merit Awards Gala, recognizing the Milhaus Kansas City team for Company Team Management of the Year and AAKC Gives, celebrating the team’s commitment to operational excellence and community impact.

The Milhaus KC team manages several Class-A multifamily communities across the Kansas City metro, including Citizen, VIA, Ora, Urbane, and Arello in Olathe. Winning Company Team Management of the Year speaks directly to the team’s day-to-day dedication, from leasing and maintenance to resident experience. The AAKC Gives award reflects the team’s reach beyond the property line, showing up for Kansas City neighbors in meaningful ways.

“Winning two Crystal Merit Awards in the same year is a true reflection of the people on our Kansas City team,” said Kara Clayton, Senior Regional Manager, Milhaus. “They show up every day committed to delivering exceptional experiences for our residents and for the broader Kansas City community, and this recognition is a testament to everything they have worked hard to build.”

For Milhaus, giving back is part of the work, a natural extension of its mission to develop in urban areas and strengthen the neighborhoods it calls home. The Milhaus Kansas City team has supported organizations including the American Royal, Operation Breakthrough, Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House, Crime Free Housing Organizations, and local economic development and Chamber of Business initiatives. The team also sponsored Kansas City Pride Week in 2024 and 2025 and volunteered in Gilham Park and the Crossroads neighborhood, planting trees and contributing to the city’s urban core.

The two Crystal Merit Awards add to a growing list of regional and national recognition for Milhaus, reflecting a company culture built on performance, people and community investment. Since entering the Kansas City market in July 2016, Milhaus has grown from a handful of properties to 13 communities representing more than half a billion dollars of investment across the city and surrounding suburbs.

What makes Milhaus stand out from other apartment management companies?
The best apartment management companies combine operational excellence, strong team culture, and genuine community investment to differentiate themselves in competitive markets. Milhaus earned Company Team Management of the Year at the 2026 AAKC Crystal Merit Awards, recognized for its Kansas City team’s day-to-day dedication to leasing, maintenance, and resident experience. Their double award win reflects a company culture built on performance, people, and community investment.

How does the Milhaus Kansas City team improve resident experience?
Milhaus Kansas City’s award-winning team focuses on day-to-day dedication, from leasing and maintenance to delivering exceptional resident experiences across multiple Class-A communities. The team earned the Company Team Management of the Year honor at the 29th Annual AAKC Crystal Merit Awards Gala in April 2026. Their approach demonstrates that consistent operational excellence drives resident satisfaction.

How is Milhaus giving back to the Kansas City community?
Milhaus earned the AAKC Gives award for its Kansas City team’s community impact, supporting organizations including Children’s Mercy Hospital, the Ronald McDonald House, Operation Breakthrough, and the American Royal. The team also sponsored Kansas City Pride Week in 2024 and 2025 and volunteered in Gilham Park and the Crossroads neighborhood, planting trees and contributing to the city’s urban core. For Milhaus, community investment is a natural extension of its mission to develop in urban areas and strengthen the neighborhoods it calls home.

How does Milhaus build community trust in the markets it serves?
Milhaus demonstrates that genuine community investment builds lasting trust, earning the AAKC Gives award for its Kansas City team’s partnerships with local nonprofits and civic organizations. The team has supported Crime Free Housing Organizations, local economic development initiatives, and Chamber of Business programs. Milhaus views giving back as part of the work, not a separate initiative.

How is Milhaus growing in secondary markets like the Midwest?
Since entering the Kansas City market in July 2016, Milhaus has grown from a handful of properties to 13 communities representing more than half a billion dollars of investment across the city and surrounding suburbs. This growth reflects strong demand for Class-A multifamily housing in Midwest markets and Milhaus’s ability to develop and manage urban properties at scale. The company’s expansion and operational performance earned double recognition at the 2026 AAKC Crystal Merit Awards.

What awards did Milhaus win in the multifamily housing industry in 2026?
Milhaus earned two Crystal Merit Awards from the Apartment Association of Kansas City at the 29th Annual AAKC Crystal Merit Awards Gala in April 2026. The Kansas City team won Company Team Management of the Year and AAKC Gives, recognizing both operational excellence and community impact. These honors add to a growing list of regional and national recognition for Milhaus.

How does Milhaus support urban core revitalization in Kansas City?
Milhaus has made community investment central to its urban development mission, with its Kansas City team volunteering in Gilham Park and the Crossroads neighborhood, planting trees and contributing to the city’s urban core. The team also supports local economic development and Chamber of Business initiatives. The AAKC Gives award recognized Milhaus’s meaningful impact beyond the property line.

What apartment communities does Milhaus manage in the Kansas City metro area?
Milhaus manages several Class-A multifamily communities across the Kansas City metro, including Citizen, VIA, Ora, Urbane, and Arello in Olathe. The company has grown to 13 communities in the Kansas City market since July 2016, representing more than half a billion dollars in investment. Milhaus is a national award-winning developer, owner, and operator of Class-A multifamily properties.

How did Milhaus earn industry recognition for operational excellence in 2026?
Milhaus earned Company Team Management of the Year at the 2026 AAKC Crystal Merit Awards by demonstrating consistent operational excellence in leasing, maintenance, and resident experience across its Kansas City portfolio. Senior Regional Manager Kara Clayton credited the team’s daily commitment to exceptional resident experiences and community engagement as the foundation of the recognition. Milhaus has built a company culture centered on performance, people, and community investment.

How does Milhaus build strong, high-performing property management teams?
Milhaus’s Kansas City team exemplifies how a strong company culture drives award-winning performance, earning two Crystal Merit Awards in the same year at the 2026 AAKC Crystal Merit Awards Gala. Senior Regional Manager Kara Clayton noted that the recognition reflects u0022everything they have worked hard to build,u0022 pointing to the team’s shared commitment to residents and the broader Kansas City community. Milhaus’s approach shows that combining operational accountability with community purpose creates teams that consistently perform at a high level.