Sun City, Arizona

Sun City, Arizona, successfully modeled the creation of a planned retirement community, geared to accommodating retirees with fixed incomes. Improvements in health care and the social and economic prosperity of the United States extended life and resulted in greater numbers of retirees. This legacy allowed for a substantial group of people to live beyond working age. The limitations of fixed incomes and company policies preventing the elderly from working resulted in stunted living situations. Many adults retired in the middle of the 20th century, and found retirement unfulfilling. Elderly people faced boredom and feelings of uselessness as they pioneered the uncharted territory of old age retirement. But avenues soon opened for change. Organized, directed “leisure” proved crucial to giving the elderly a more fulfilling life. Retirement centers emerged, some as nursing homes, neighborhoods, and villages, but these ill-planned communities proved inadequate.

The Del E. Webb Development Company, a powerful entity in Phoenix, sought the elderly market. With a history of building homes in California and Arizona and building casinos in Nevada, Webb had influence in the region. With a strong base in Phoenix, Del Webb borrowed the idea for a planned community from seeing the struggling model of Youngtown, located just miles southwest of the future site of Sun City.

Webb's company built cheap affordable houses for seniors. The initial purpose of Sun City was to build homes for low-income elderly individuals; it turned to housing for moderately well-off elderly people. Improvements in planning Sun City emerged because of the struggling Youngtown. First, homes improved in size and quality, but could still be acquired for $300–$400 a month. The company realized that it was cheaper to build on land where they could patch into preexisting sewers, gas lines, electric lines, and water mains. The land developed was the old Marinette Ranch; the ranch no longer yielded much cotton, due to the low water table. The community expanded further through the acquisition of several thousand acres from the Santa Fe Company. Volunteerism became important to civic life, and residents performed some of the chores to keep expenses down.

Webb's firm conducted research to make sure that there was a market for a city for the elderly, and Youngtown had proved it to an extent. After the Today Show featured retirement communities in Arizona, it received more than 50,000 inquiries. Webb took note of this interest and continued pursuit of this market. Webb ensured that the markets, recreational facilities, and homes in Sun City reached completion before the [Page 609]arrival of the first settlers. By December 31, 1959, his project was ready for opening day.

New Year's Day of 1960 witnessed Sun City open for viewing to the public. More than 100,000 curious visitors jammed the area. After the company ran out of printed contracts on the first day, it relied on handwritten receipts. In the first 72 hours Webb sold 237 homes. By the end of the year, 2,000 homes had sold, although Webb had intended to build only 1,700 total over the first three years. Webb's firm feared long-term mortgaging to older people, but many affluent residents paid in full when they moved in. Many people who came to see the community had an interest in homes that bordered the golf course. The opening success ensured future growth for the city. Selling the active way of life nourished Sun City. Leisure facilities in many forms drew people: jogging tracks, pools, minigolf courses, horseshoe pits, and community centers for games and other crafts.

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