A 376-unit apartment complex is being proposed on a 12-acre vacant site at the southwest corner of Ruby and Priest Drives in south Tempe, just steps from IKEA and the Emerald Center retail corridor. The project needs Tempe City Council approval of a rezoning request before it can move forward, with a vote expected on October 15.
Council Timeline and Site History
The Emerald Center Mixed-Use proposal was introduced to Tempe City Council on September 24, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM. The site sits within a larger 25-acre parcel that also includes the Maricopa County Community College District's new headquarters. City staff have already approved subdividing the property into two parcels, though that subdivision has not yet been formally recorded, per the station's report.
A rezoning approval would not guarantee that construction would follow.
Who's Behind the New Plan
Project filings indicate Trammell Crow Company is co-developing the new complex in partnership with The Widewaters Group. The plan calls for five four-story buildings capped at 65 feet, four detached garages, and roughly 590 vehicle parking spaces spread across a unit mix of 37 studios, 207 one-bedroom, 117 two-bedroom, and 15 three-bedroom apartments. In total, the project would pack roughly 523 bedrooms onto 12.16 acres, a density of about 31 dwelling units per acre.
The land's ownership history traces back to Target Corp.; the two-story office buildings were renovated in 2019, according to Transwestern. The Widewaters Group Inc. bought the roughly 189,000-square-foot campus from Target for $20.5 million in August 2025, per Vizzda LLC's transaction records cited by KTAR. The Maricopa County Community College District acquired the 25.29-acre property from Widewaters for $27 million in November 2025, according to that same station account.
A New Home for Maricopa's Community Colleges
The proposed apartments would join a parcel that also includes the Maricopa County Community College District's new headquarters, reflecting the corridor's mix of institutional and residential uses.
Commission Vote Exposed a Green Code Dispute
The Tempe Development Review Commission voted on September 8 to approve the project's rezoning to MU-4 mixed-use with a Planned Area Development overlay, moving the property from its General Industrial District designation, according to Citizen Portal. Commissioner Camden Young dissented, citing concerns over verifying compliance with the International Green Construction Code.
Community pushback, meanwhile, appears essentially nonexistent. A formal neighborhood outreach meeting held by the developer in July drew zero public attendance, per AZBEX's report, a marked contrast to the organized opposition seen in Hoodline's earlier coverage of the Spence student tower fight elsewhere in Tempe.
Fitting Into Tempe's Growth Plans
The 12.16-acre site is in south Tempe, and the proposed 376 units would amount to roughly 31 units per acre.
The proposed apartments would occupy a vacant piece of a larger property that also includes former office buildings along South Priest Drive.
Future residents would live near IKEA and the Emerald Center retail corridor. If the City Council approves the rezoning next month, the project would add a residential address near aging office space along the corridor.
