Kenect
Challenge
AKARA Partners was launching Kenect Chicago as the first location in a planned national rollout. Kenect needed to attract young professionals taking their first real step into independent living, looking for a place that would make the transition seamless. As the pilot for a national expansion, Kenect couldn’t afford a quiet launch. The site presented its own challenge. The old Italian National Bank, from what was once one of the country’s largest Italian neighborhoods, stood as an abandoned building where Kenect would rise. AKARA Partners needed to honor the history of what locals called “the gray building” while building excitement for what came next. Get it wrong in Chicago, and the entire rollout strategy stalls.
client
Kenect
INDUSTRY
Real Estate & Development
SERVICES
Creative direction & design
Branding
Commercial printing
Digital marketing
Website development
Solution
1905 New Media saw the abandoned building differently. Local artists created a farewell mural on the building before demolition, transforming the end of something old into the beginning of something new. That early success shaped everything that followed. The “Kenect With Me” theme captured what the mural had already demonstrated. The brand identity pulled directly from the mural’s energy — bold geometry, warm tones and an open aesthetic that said “you belong here” before anyone signed a lease. Every piece of collateral carried that invitation forward, from signage to digital marketing materials.
A Launch Built on Community Energy
The farewell mural created buzz before construction started, drawing future residents and neighbors together around something bigger than just another apartment complex. Kenect launched with a brand built on that early momentum. The property opened as designed — 195 units targeting first-time renters eager to be part of a community, not just tenants looking for square footage. Kenect became a destination in Chicago’s West Loop, proving the community-first model AKARA Partners envisioned could deliver results and scale beyond the pilot location.
