Building a Better Community

When is a neighborhood more than a group of homes? When it’s a community built on genuine connections and creativity. And Alamar is more than just a place to live—it’s a place where families and friends can grow and learn together and co-create a place where neighbors are personally connected to one another through shared interests and values.

Alamar Community Life will help people build richer and more fulfilling neighborhoods, working directly with residents to create new experiences—from volunteering opportunities to sports teams to clubs representing all kinds of interests—throughout the American West.

“It’s about a better way of living,” says Suzanne Walden-Wells, CEO for DMB Community Life. “We assist people in connecting the things that they are passionate about, whether it’s a specific cause, philanthropy, a leadership opportunity within the community, or volunteering to assist with event planning. It can be aspirational or grassroots.”

Walden-Wells has been a hands-on leader in communities like DC Ranch, a private golf and residential community in Scottsdale, Eastmark, in Mesa, and Verrado in Buckeye. And at each and every development, she and the Community Life engagement teams have created programs unique to the wants and desires of residents. They have successfully launched blood drives and food donation programs; helped residents organize soccer teams and baseball tournaments, as well as crafts clubs and study groups; and implemented community concerts, seasonal events, and block parties. The company has even tapped chart-topping acts like the B-52s, En Vogue, and the Beach Boys for some of its biggest events.

In other words, nothing that Community Life does is cookie cutter—and everything is customized for the community it serves. “We call it co-creation—the community needs to be an authentic expression of the people who live there,” she explains. “We work in collaboration with residents to gather their ideas—what they are interested in and what they are passionate about. The programs always spring from the ideas of the residents.”

At Alamar, Community Life will collaborate with homeowners to create this personalized experience. Walden-Wells imagines residents will be interested in creating more ways to enjoy the great outdoors—something Alamar has plenty of with more than 30 Neighborhood Parks, miles of hiking trails, and three larger two- to three-acre Community Parks featuring a swimming pool, picnic areas, and sports fields. “The natural resources in the area are incredible, whether we think about the Tres Rios area or the trail system. There is just no shortage of opportunities to really enjoy the outdoors,” she says.

Of course, it all depends on what excites and interests Alamar’s residents. “We can make suggestions—a hiking club or a wine club—and we can definitely seed ideas, but, ultimately, it’s up to the people who live in the community.” To help with that, Community Life provides an engagement team to support residents and encourage them to organize both on their own and by utilizing the company’s many resources, like event planning and partnerships with local farmers, charities, and other organizations. “We are basically the organizers from the logistics side of it, and then the residents deliver on it themselves,” Walden-Wells says. Whether it’s a steering committee or a role in executing events, building teams and clubs, or organizing charitable efforts, Community Life is a partner in making it easy to make it all happen. “People own what they help create,” Walden-Wells adds. “The best engagement comes from residents who are doing meaningful things.”

Community Life’s role at Alamar isn’t just a means for entertainment and activities—it’s a valuable resource for day-to-day management, too. Given the Alamar’s many green spaces, Community Life will enlist an operations team that residents can rely on for practical assistance, as well as experts in governance and communications. If a tree falls in the neighborhood, for instance, there’s always someone at the ready—whether by text, phone, or email—to help, and help fast.

With all of these services combined, Walden-Wells and her team are enhancing the quality of life and adding a true sense of community into the everyday experience at Alamar. “It’s about encouraging people to take advantage of what’s available to them and really find what they’re passionate about,” she says. After all, without passion, a community isn’t really a community at all. “Without an equal focus on the heart and soul of the people who live there, a community would be nothing more than a collection of homes.”