Ware Malcomb and The Garrett Companies Complete 248-Unit Emblem Mesa

Ware Malcomb’s Phoenix office has announced construction is complete on Emblem Mesa, a 248-unit garden-style apartment community developed by The Garrett Companies at 1340 S. 48th Street in Mesa. The project, also referred to as Garrett Mesa, sits on 14.27 acres and is organized as 13 two- and three-story buildings with detached garages and covered parking.

Units range from 793 to 1,359 square feet across one-, two-, and three-bedroom plans. The exterior design blends stucco, cementitious siding, and stone, with a deliberate rule that no single material exceeds 50 percent of any facade. That discipline gives the community visual variety without adding cost or complexity.

Two decisions on the construction side stand out. The team used panelized wood-stud framing to accelerate the build, and it held to pre-approved building square footages so that budget and schedule stayed predictable across all 13 buildings. Community amenities include a resort-style pool, fitness center, clubhouse, and a series of pocket parks. Demetrios Stavrianos, Director of Architecture at Ware Malcomb, described the project as part of a multi-state portfolio the firm is delivering with Garrett.

The location adds to the story. The 48th Street corridor sits between Mesa’s Fiesta District and the Tempe border, close to US 60 and Loop 101, and it has drawn a steady run of new rental communities as employers along the freeway corridors have grown. Emblem Mesa gives that submarket a walk-up, garden-style option at a time when much of the new supply in the East Valley has trended toward larger podium buildings.

Why it matters to JFN

Garden-style communities built from a small set of repeated building types are where prefabrication and standardized rough-in pay off most. When an architect commits to panelized framing and fixed building footprints, the plumbing and mechanical scope can be planned as a production line: identical wet walls, identical riser locations, and identical mechanical closets across a dozen buildings. That predictability is what keeps a multifamily schedule on track through the Arizona summer, and it is the kind of design approach we like to see coming out of the Valley’s architecture community.

Sources: AZ Big Media, August 2026; REBusinessOnline, August 10, 2026