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sun city: 40 years of success |
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January 1, 1960. The dawn of a new decade and dawn of a new era for retirees. For it was on that day that the Del E. Webb Development Company began selling homes for its newest project: An active adult retirement community. The community, called Sun City, was the first of its kind in the nation. The first of its kind in the world, for that matter. Located west of Phoenix, the new community was the brainchild of the company’s founder, Delbert Eugene Webb. Although based in Phoenix, the company was already well known throughout the nation. In addition to building many of Arizona’s most famous buildings and properties (include Luke Air Force Base), the company had a major hand in building hotels, resorts and casinos in Las Vegas and other parts of the country. A sports enthusiasts, Del Webb’s fame and fortune allowed him to sponsor Indianapolis “500” and Daytona race cars, as well as own the famed New York Yankees for a stretch. But build an entire community for a specific group of people? That was an entirely new concept altogether. Spurred on by the early success of Youngtown, established in 1955, Webb Company officials developed the idea of taking the “retirement” community concept to the next level. Youngtown was created for retirees living on minimal, fixed incomes. The homes were small - the amenities were non-existent. Del Webb toyed
with the idea of creating a self-sustaining community that would be all
encompassing with affordable housing and recreation. The work begins In the late 1950s the company acquired 20,000 acres of land adjacent to Youngtown. The land, owned by the Boswell Company, was part of a town once known as Marinette and used primarily for farming cotton. In 1959 the Webb Company began work on the then-unnamed community. First to be built was a shopping center, followed by a golf course and a recreation center. That simple pattern — small neighborhoods built close to recreational and shopping amenities — would set the stage for all master-planned retirement communities to follow. The shopping center — now known at the Grand Shopping Center — was constructed at 107th and Grand avenues. Behind that was the first recreation center — then known as the Civic Association but today called Oakmont — followed by five fresh new model homes. Behind the recreation center was North Golf Course. The community didn’t get its name until about a month prior to its Jan. 1 grand opening. The new project was called the “Marinette Retirement Community” until a new name could be found. A nationwide contest was held to
name the community and, as legend has it, Del Webb himself selected the winning
name after seeing it among the thousands of entries. Opening day success Despite a massive nationwide advertising blitz prior to the opening, company officials still had their doubts about the eventual success of their newest project. Would anyone show up on opening day? Their fears were quickly calmed. By early morning thousands of cars were lined up along Grand Avenue to view this new creation. A traffic jam starting at 107th Avenue continued east all the way back into the little town of Peoria. According to Webb records, over 100,000 visitors toured the new model homes during the first three days of the grand opening. Incredibly, 237 homes were sold during that first three-day weekend. Sun City was an immediate and overwhelming success! According to the Sun Cities Historical Society, Wendell and Emilie Draser were the first residents to move into their new Sun City home. Records also reveal that many of the first weekend’s buyers purchased more than one home at the same time. Others who bought homes that first weekend would go on to buy several more homes in Sun City — changing homes as the Webb Company changed model styles. The community grew quickly. By the end of the first month, the company had sold all 400 of the homes scheduled to be built in the first year. A second phase consisting of 675 homes was quickly put together. The company had planned to sell 1,700 homes in its first three years of marketing Sun City. By the end of 1960, a total of 2,000 homes had been purchased. According to the book, “Jubilee: The 25th Anniversary of Sun City,” 59 days after it first opened, Sun City was billed as Arizona’s “fastest growing city.” Sun City’s
initial success earned national attention. The community was highlighted in
newspaper and magazine articles throughout the country, featured on the national
news and profiled on TV shows. Del Webb was even featured on a 1962 cover of
Time magazine. A friendly community The positive publicity showered on the community certainly attributed to its continual popularity, but word of mouth played a key role in Sun City’s success. Those who purchased homes after 1960 were often friends of those already living in Sun City. Friends told their friends who in turn told their friends about this new and exciting lifestyle. Many of the remaining pioneers, in fact, fondly recall how close-knit the community was back in the early 1960s. Friendship, socializing, recreation and fun were — and continue to be — the main staples of living in Sun City. Various social and arts-related clubs began to organize. Neighbors and friends gathered at the recreation center to celebrate special occasions and holidays. Early pioneers recall the first Easter Sunrise Service (a tradition that remains to this day), Chow Night at the recreation center, weekly “songfests,” newcomer coffees and a minstrel show comprised of residents. A theater for residents to entertain each other — and to be entertained — began with the construction of the community’s second recreation center, Town Hall Recreation Center (known today as Fairway Recreation Center). The new facility boasted of an outdoor Greek theater. That facility would later be replaced by the Sun Bowl, which would host such big-name stars as Lawrence Welk, Rich Little, Rosemary Clooney, Guy Lomardo and Bob Hope. Webb would continue its tradition of building entertainment venues with the massive Sundome Center for Performing Arts once the company began work on Sun City West. The community grows The Webb Company added recreation centers, golf courses and shopping facilities as Sun City grew. By 1968, the company had constructed three recreation centers in Sun City: Oakmont, Fairway and the new Mountain View Center. But strange as it may seem today, the three recreation centers were separate entities controlled by three separate boards. The Del Webb Corporation was quick to turn over ownership of its recreation centers to the residents. But the original recreation centers were assigned to specific units or neighborhoods. At one point, residents living in one Sun City neighborhood were restricted to using one specific recreation center — and prohibited from using another center. All that changed in 1968 when the community voted to bring all three existing recreational centers under one non-profit organization. That organization would later become the Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. The unification also brought about another novel concept that would eventually be adopted by every other builder of master-planned communities: An assessment on all residents to help pay for the recreational amenities. By the late 1960s the Webb Company began building homes north of Grand Avenue. Lakeview Recreation Center opened in 1970 and within three years the company had begun work on Sundial and Bell Recreation Centers. A final facility, Marinette Recreation Center, would open in
1979. Commercial growth As the population grew, so did the need for a variety of services: Shopping, medical, dining and long-term care. The community’s first church was United Church of Sun City. Its first retirement home was Sun Valley Lodge. Its first hotel was the Hi-way House, which also served as a restaurant and an apartment for those waiting for their homes to be built (not to mention the Sun City headquarters for Del Webb). But as the population grew, so did the need for a major health-care facility. The nearest hospital was in Glendale, which was a bit too far for a community consisting entirely of senior citizens. A committee to examine the idea of building a Sun City hospital was established in 1966. The hospital was originally to be located on the corner of 103rd and Grand Avenues (the present site of Sun Valley Lodge). A community fund drive capped off by a $1.2 million donation from the James G. Boswell Foundation —named after the man who once owned the land where Sun City now existed — allowed for the creation of Boswell Hospital. Ground was broken in 1969 and the facility’s first two towers were opened in 1970. The success of Sun City prompted the Webb Company to quickly
build a Sun City, Calif. and Sun City, Fla. In 1978 the company purchased more
land west of Sun City and began working on Sun City West. Since then, additional
“Sun City” communities have been created by the Webb Corporation in Arizona,
Nevada, Texas, South Carolina and Illinois. ‘City of Volunteers’ Forty years later, Sun City is still best known for its volunteer spirit. The community remains unincorporated and has always depended on its own citizens for required services. Most of the needed health-care services in the community were built with funds donated by residents. Sun Valley Lodge, the community’s first retirement home, was and still is primarily funded by resident donations. The Sun City Prides keep the streets clean and tidy. The Sheriff’s Posse of Sun City helps the Maricopa County Sheriff’s patrol the community’s streets and plays a major role in maintaining one of the lowest crime rates in the nation. Boswell Hospital and its parent, the Sun Health Corp., maintains one of largest volunteer forces in the nation to help with day-to-day operations, saving the health-care institution millions of dollars each year. Residents oversee the community’s three most important civic groups: The Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc., the Sun City Home Owners Association and the Sun City Taxpayers Association. As other needs for services arose over the years, Sun City residents were quick to organize and find solutions. Sun and fun may
have been the initial attraction to Sun City 40 years ago. But the strength of
Sun City’s residents and their enduring ability to take care of one another
may be the key to the community’s continued success — and the primary
difference between it and all those since who have tried to imitate Del Webb’s
vision.
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