kids encyclopedia robot

Sun City Texas facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Sun City Texas
Community
Main entry to Sun City Texas
Main entry to Sun City Texas
Country United States
State Texas
County Williamson County
City Georgetown
Population
 (2021)
 • Total 15,700
Location of Georgetown, Texas

Sun City Texas is a 4,750-acre (19.2 km2) age-restricted community located in Georgetown, Texas, a city 35 miles north of Austin off Interstate 35. It is part of the chain of Sun City communities started by Del Webb.

Del Webb, a publicly traded company when Sun City Texas was originally conceived and through the first several years of homebuilding, was later sold to PulteGroup. Residency is restricted to persons over age 55, or in the case of couples, one of which must be 55 years of age (except in the instance of guardianship and marriage). Sun City Texas is made up predominately of single-family dwellings, but also has a small number of duplexes. For marketing purposes, near the new Sales Center there are a limited number of houses called the Explore Del Webb Program (each complete with a golf cart), which are used for providing low-cost overnight accommodations for prospects to "live the life" of Sun City for a few days. Total build-out is approved by Georgetown for approximately 10,550 homes, which equals a total of approximately 18,500 residents.

Activities

The community is generally oriented toward recent retirees. However, demographically, Sun City typically is not the last home where someone will live after retirement, but rather it is the first home of retirement for "active adults" who actively play tennis, golf, dance, do yoga or participate in numerous activities and clubs. These still-active retirees, typically between the ages of 55 and 65, are known a "Zoomers" as they are the active segment of the Baby Boom generation.

Thanks to a change in state law initiated by the developer, it is legal to drive licensed "golf cars" on the streets in the development and the shopping areas and all activity centers throughout Sun City have special parking spaces for same. Schedules of activities and events are be found on the Sun City resident website HERE.

Sun City Texas pool
The Cowan Creek Activity Center is the latest of three activity centers to be built.

There are three golf courses, a large central activity center (with a ballroom, meeting rooms, a library and business center), hobby facilities (including woodworking, computer lab, ceramics studio, dancing, and others), numerous pools, a lake for fishing, and many other recreational facilities. Two "satellite" activity centers are located across the development, each with a pool, aerobic and dance studios and many other facilities. There are clubs for almost any interest such as an active nature club that takes advantage of the 14 miles of nature walks and special ecological features of the site.

The community's proximity to Southwestern University provides access to a variety of additional cultural activities. And the city of Austin is nearby providing a rich variety of urban activities, and the surrounding Hill Country region provides many opportunities for outdoor activities.

Target audiences

Although the community attracts residents from all over the country, it has proved especially popular with retirees from the Upper Midwest because of the lower cost of living and relatively mild climate, but residents from Dallas and Houston who want to live in the Texas Hill Country are also target prospects. The project name at the beginning of the development was "Sun City Georgetown", but the name was later changed to Sun City Texas because of its focus on attracting residents throughout the state. In 2007, Georgetown was named by Retirement Places Rated (Seventh Edition) as the "Best Place in America to Retire".

Legends of Texas Bridge

Simultaneous to the opening of the Legacy Hills golf course, Del Webb started the tradition of inaugurating Texas residents from around the state into the Legends of Texas Bridge (an idea developed and orchestrated by PR consultant Don Martin based on the celebrity granite stars located in downtown Austin) with a ceremony in which a granite star with their name was placed into the sidewalk of the main bridge on Sun City Blvd over Berry Creek at the entrance to Sun City. Honorees were selected in an open nomination process. The honorees also received a glass memorial of the induction and most attended an induction ceremony and were greeted by Sun City residents. Each year, typically three to five senior Texans, 55 or older, were honored, including luminaries such as Carol Burnett, Willie Nelson, Darell Royal, Tom Landry, Barbara Bush, George Christian, and Ebby Halliday. The program was discontinued after about ten years.

Notable residents

  • Another resident is former Dallas Cowboys Hall-of-Fame football player Bob Lilly, the first player initiated into the Cowboys' Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor (in 1975). Only nine players received the honor during the first three decades of the Cowboys' existence, making the Ring of Honor a coveted accolade.
kids search engine
Sun City Texas Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.