Gilbert’s Multifamily Boom: What’s Being Built, What’s Pending, and What’s Coming Next

Today, Gilbert’s population is just under 300,000, with the town’s economic development office putting the figure at just over 289,000 residents and projecting continued growth toward more than 330,000 by 2030. At the same time, Gilbert’s housing stock remains overwhelmingly single-family, with a commonly cited split of roughly 85% single-family and 15% multifamily or other attached housing types. That makes Gilbert very different from Phoenix, where the city’s housing needs assessment shows about 67% of units are single-family and roughly 33% fall into multifamily, mobile home, and other housing categories.

That gap matters, because even a modest multifamily pipeline in Gilbert can have a meaningful impact on housing choice, affordability, and the ability of workers, downsizers, and renters-by-choice to stay in the community.

 

Gilbert Is Still Mostly Single-Family — But Multifamily Is Expanding

Gilbert’s identity has historically been tied to large master-planned neighborhoods, strong schools, and a suburban ownership model centered on detached homes. For years, that made the town one of the most single-family-heavy markets in the East Valley.

Now, however, multifamily development is becoming a more visible part of Gilbert’s growth story. New apartment communities are being planned near major corridors, employment hubs, retail centers, and mixed-use destinations rather than being scattered randomly throughout town. That shift reflects both changing consumer demand and the reality that Gilbert has less vacant land available for traditional low-density suburban expansion as it moves closer to full buildout.

 

The Multifamily Projects Shaping Gilbert

Based on recent reporting, Gilbert has seen a handful of major multifamily projects drive the current pipeline, with your estimate of roughly four communities and about 1,575 units aligning closely with what has been publicly discussed in planning coverage over the last few years.

One of the notable projects is Morrison Ranch II, a proposed 236-unit luxury apartment development near Elliot Road and Beebe Street. The project has been positioned as a modern rental option with convenient access to Loop 202, nearby retail, and the broader Morrison Ranch area.

Another is Morrison Ranch Apartments, a separate multifamily proposal of about 231 units near Higley and Warner roads. This project has been described as a garden-style apartment community with multiple buildings, shared amenities, and pedestrian connectivity within the surrounding neighborhood fabric.

A major contributor to Gilbert’s evolving apartment landscape is Stillwater Rivulon, a 352-unit multifamily project within the larger Rivulon mixed-use and employment campus near Lindsay and Pecos roads. This project is significant not only because of its unit count, but because it reflects Gilbert’s broader trend toward integrating apartments into employment-oriented mixed-use development.

There is also Higley Apartments, a 261-unit multifamily community planned near Higley and Baseline roads. Public descriptions indicate a four-story format with a clubhouse and central amenity areas, adding another substantial apartment cluster to Gilbert’s growing rental inventory.

Looking ahead, one of the more notable pending communities is Headwaters Gilbert, an age-restricted 55+ multifamily development proposed near Gilbert Road and Gilbert Town Square Avenue. That project is planned at 188 units and is designed around lifestyle-oriented amenities such as a clubhouse, pool, and wellness-focused features for older adults who want a lower-maintenance housing option in Gilbert.

Taken together, these communities account for roughly 1,268 units on their own, and when additional planned communities and broader pipeline estimates are included, the market gets very close to the approximately 1,575 units you referenced.

 

What Happened In The Last Two Years

Over the last two years, the biggest story in Gilbert multifamily has not been a dramatic skyline transformation, but rather a steady normalization of apartment development in carefully selected locations. Instead of seeing widespread multifamily across every part of town, Gilbert has mainly concentrated new apartment activity in strategic submarkets tied to infrastructure, employment, shopping, and future mixed-use growth.

Projects in and around Rivulon, Morrison Ranch, and other corridor-adjacent locations have helped push multifamily from a niche product to a more accepted part of Gilbert’s development pattern. At the same time, planning discussions around additional sites suggest that local officials and developers recognize the need for a broader housing mix as Gilbert’s economy matures.

 

What’s Pending And What’s Likely Next

Over the next two years, Gilbert’s multifamily pipeline will likely continue to be shaped by a combination of approved communities moving toward completion and pending projects working through planning and entitlement. That means the next phase of growth is less about speculation and more about execution.

Projects like Stillwater Rivulon and the Morrison Ranch communities represent the kind of multifamily product Gilbert appears most willing to support: well-amenitized, professionally managed apartment developments in targeted growth areas. Headwaters Gilbert adds another dimension by bringing age-restricted multifamily into the conversation, which broadens the appeal of apartment living beyond younger renters and single professionals.

Another important project to watch is The Ranch, a large-scale mixed-use concept near Elliot and Power roads that has been reported to include roughly 729 multifamily units as part of a much larger development program. If projects like that move forward as envisioned, Gilbert’s multifamily presence could expand well beyond the handful of communities that have defined the current conversation.

 

Gilbert Versus Phoenix: Why The Comparison Matters

The best way to understand why this moment matters is to compare Gilbert to Phoenix. Phoenix already has a much more diversified housing base, with single-family homes accounting for about 67% of the housing stock and the balance spread across apartments, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, mobile homes, and other housing formats.

Gilbert, by contrast, is still much more concentrated in detached housing, which means the addition of even 1,500 multifamily units can shift local housing choice more noticeably than it would in a much larger and more urban market like Phoenix. In Phoenix, that scale of apartment delivery would blend into a much broader housing ecosystem. In Gilbert, it signals a meaningful evolution in the town’s identity.

For renters, that could mean more options close to jobs, restaurants, and entertainment. For employers, it can improve workforce housing flexibility. And for Gilbert as a whole, it suggests the town is slowly becoming a more complete housing market rather than remaining almost exclusively a single-family suburb.

 

Why This Trend Matters For Gilbert

The rise in multifamily development is not just about unit counts. It reflects larger economic and demographic trends shaping the East Valley.

Gilbert continues to grow in both population and employment, and that creates demand from residents who either cannot or do not want to purchase a detached home. Some are younger professionals seeking flexibility, some are empty nesters looking to downsize, and some are households who want access to Gilbert’s lifestyle without the cost or maintenance burden of ownership.

At the same time, multifamily can support retail corridors, mixed-use centers, and job hubs in ways that lower-density housing often cannot. That is one reason so many of Gilbert’s apartment proposals are tied to specific strategic locations rather than appearing as isolated standalone projects.

 

Final Thoughts

Gilbert is still a single-family-first community, but it is no longer a single-family-only story. Over the last two years, a growing list of apartment communities has either moved through planning, advanced toward construction, or entered the public conversation as part of the town’s next phase of growth.

If current projects continue to move forward, the next two years could further reshape how Gilbert accommodates renters, active adults, and residents looking for alternatives to traditional detached housing. Compared with Phoenix, Gilbert remains far more suburban and far more single-family-oriented, but that is exactly why its emerging multifamily pipeline is so important.