DMB Associates Builds a Community Garden in Mesa
With rakes and shovels in hand, 40 volunteers with Eastmark and DMB Associates turned a once vacant lot in Mesa into a community garden. For the past 22 years, DMB Associates has worked with Rebuilding Together to reinvest in the community and engage their employees in neighborhood projects. 
This year, the DMB team selected a project in a historic Mesa neighborhood, as it prepares to debut the newest community in the East Valley – Eastmark.
Volunteers constructed raised bed planter boxes, assembled a garden shed and installed fruit and shade trees last weekend for the Washington Escobedo Community, a significant historic neighborhood near downtown Mesa.
Children from the neighborhood joined in the fun by creating art objects and neighbors assisted with construction.
In the future, the students from the award-winning Edu-Prize school’s STEP UP programs will be able to tend to the garden as a living classroom. When the Edu-Prize program moves in to the Washington Activity Center, the program plans to bring students to the garden for lessons in history, culture and food.
“Partnership is an important part of our corporate culture and the Washington Escobedo Community Garden is an expression of true partnership among the stakeholders in this special community,” said Suzanne Walden-Wells, Director of Community Life for Eastmark, DMB’s new Mesa community opening in June.
“We started the day with little more than a pile of dirt and lumber and, thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, we ended the day with a beautiful garden that will serve as a point of pride for this neighborhood for years to come,” Walden-Wells said.
Rummel Construction led the work team on Saturday and Desert Classic Landscaping was responsible for the site preparation. The landscape plan was designed and donated by Vollmer & Associates, a local landscape architecture firm.
Mesa city staff members, Rummel construction employees and community volunteers joined DMB’s volunteer team. The West Mesa Community Development Corporation also served as a partner.
