By the end of 1997, Sun City was swiftly beginning to take shape. The south end of Huntley was a vast construction zone. Streets, wetlands, and neighborhood parks were emerging, sites for activities and sports were on the drawing boards, and colorful gardens and flower beds were springing up. Visitors began streaming into Huntley, and Del Webb phones were ringing off the hook with inquiries. A scale model of a 95,000-square-foot recreation and activity center was placed on a table in the sales office and attracted the attention of visitors.
Now, some serious public relations had to be done to get the word out. So Dave Schreiner hired Harriet Ford, whose background in real estate sales and community relations made her an ideal choice to be Del Webb’s director of public relations.
Main pavilion at Prairie Lodge following initial construction. (Photo Provided by Tom Hall)
“I was very excited to come to Sun City in Huntley because everything about it was a first of its kind, and the whole project was bigger than life,” Ford recalled.
The first event on Ford’s schedule was a ground-breaking ceremony, which took place on June 30, 1998. Chicago area and national media were calling and coming frequently to the area, and advertising was generating a flood of responses. Like just about everything else with the unique nature of this first four-season Sun City, the ground breaking was creative.
“We didn’t use fancy shovels with executives in suits,” she recalled. “We put the guys on bulldozers and earth-moving vehicles, staged it in a big tent, and everybody had a great time.”
“That ground breaking ceremony was a wonderful day,” said Elaine Kelly, who was one of the original 11 sales associates hired by Del Webb. “I remember Dave Schreiner, with his suit coat off, climbing up on one of the machines and posing for pictures.”
Aerial view of Drendel family farmland that Sun City now sits on. (Photo Provided by Tom Hall)
Kelly was one of Del Webb’s top-three sales associates for most of her eight years.
“We sold home sites as well as houses, and it was fun to talk to buyers about their retirement dreams,” she said. Elaine and her husband, Tom, bought their own Del Webb home in 2002.
“We talked up Del Webb to our families and friends, as well as the media and celebrities,” said Ford. “My sister, Judith Schilf, bought a home on one of the first weekends after sales opened.” She remains in it today.
Early visitors were impressed as they turned on to Del Webb Boulevard between the two huge monument signs identifying “Del Webb’s Sun City” and noticed the large and colorful flower beds, rushing waterfalls, and the 75-foot fountain in the large pool in front of the pavilion amphitheater.
As the contracts started to roll in during 1999 and the houses rolled out over the Huntley prairie, Ford came up with one of her most innovative and successful public relations ideas. Del Webb, the Huntley Park District, and the village combined to stage a 100th birthday party for the late Del Webb on May 17, 1999, about a month after the first home sales took place. Del Webb was born on May 17, 1899, and died in 1974.
“Because he had owned the New York Yankees baseball team, we invited Whitey Ford, Hall of Fame pitcher for the Yankees during Webb’s ownership years, to come to Huntley,” Ford related. “He signed autographs, threw a few pitches, and brought out the media. We held an exhibition game between the Webb staffers and park and village officials at a newly renovated ball field in Diecke Park. Del Webb’s organization paid for the renovation of this field, as part of its business alliance partnership with employees and trade contractors that had joined together to build Sun City.”
This event was a good example of the community spirit of the Del Webb organization, Ford said.
“The company was very good at building relationships with the entire community wherever they located communities. It donated $10,000 to the Huntley Public Library, and also donated funds to the Grafton Township Food Pantry and supported other organizations in the town.
“A steady stream of media people and celebrities wrote about us and attended our events in Huntley,” she went on. “They included TV actor Ed Asner, legendary Chicago radio personality Wally Phillips, Shaun Gayle of the 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl team, and Dennis Hastert, Illinois Congressman and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.”
Del Webb’s visibility and popularity had reached a high water mark.
Even though her employment at Del Webb ended, Ford has lingered in the area. She now lives in Sun City, has pursued several other public relations opportunities, and is currently associated in a public relations capacity with the Fox Valley Eagles, a semi-professional football team that is playing its games at Huntley High School. Schreiner has returned to Arizona and owns and operates his own company, Mature Market Strategies, in Scottsdale.
Then came 2001.
Del Webb officials made a fateful financial decision that changed the firm’s identity. The public announcement was brief and sudden: Del Webb and Pulte Homes merged, with Del Webb becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Pulte, one of the nation’s largest and most prominent residential builders.
Schreiner was not one of the primary decision makers in this situation, but he provided this general insight into this move.
“Both Pulte and Del Webb were public companies at the time,” he said. “It was perceived by multiple parties that Del Webb was under valued by the market. Pulte made a compelling offer to the board of Del Webb. The board’s mission was to maximize return to the shareholders, and it elected to take the deal. At the time, Pulte executives believed there was substantial upside to (Del Webb’s) operating efficiencies, land appreciation, and the Del Webb brand. All of this proved to be true over time. Del Webb was operated as a business unit by Pulte for an initial period of time, and Del Web became a branded product within Pulte. Pulte Group operating divisions continue today to develop Del Webb branded active adult communities.”
By the middle of 2000, Sun City’s flagship facility, Prairie Lodge, was completed and opened. It is one of Del Webb’s largest retirement community recreation and activity centers at more than 95,000 square feet.
As the first neighborhood in Sun City, Neighborhood 2 cel- ebrates its 15-year anniversary with a celebration dinner at South Union Road House. (Photo by Chris LaPelusa/Sun Day)
“It was another first of its kind, and it has made most of the camaraderie and socializing that Sun City is famous for possible,” Ford said.
Its public restaurant, two swimming pools, fitness center, 350-seat ballroom and entertainment stage, and variety of meeting rooms, quickly became Sun City’s gathering place and a popular area entertainment center.
The year 2001 also saw the departure of Schreiner, and the coming of two new things, a homeowners association that now manages Sun City activities and development, and Judy Julison, the association’s first executive director. Before they left, however, Schreiner’s team began work on, and/or completed, several other sports and activity sites: The Whisper Creek Golf Course (with legendary golf pro Billy Casper’s help), Tall Oaks Tennis Center, Wildflower Lake recreation area, the Millgrove Woodshop, Eakin Field outdoor sports area, and Bocce Ball courts next to Prairie Lodge. By 2001, the planning was completed for the eventual construction of Meadow View Lodge next to the Arcadia condo building on the south side of the community.
Prairie Lodge also was the home of the Del Webb sales staff for eight years until 2009, when it was vacated by the Pulte Group and the sales area was converted to additional activity space for Sun City’s more than 80 charter and special interest groups. About seven years ago, the local association took over full control of Sun City’s governance, finances, and social activities with a seven-member board of directors elected by the residents.
Today, Sun City is one of the largest subdivisions in the Chicago area, with about 9,500 residents in 5,480 dwelling units of all kinds spread out in 42 neighborhoods occupying more than 2,700 acres. The community has played the major role in sending Huntley’s population soaring from 3,500 in 1999 to more than 25,000. Pulte completed the buildout and development of new homes and lots in 2013, about five years later than planned, due to the housing recession that started in 2008. The four-season retirement community idea also has spawned several other Del Webb communities in the Chicago area – in Mundelein, Elgin, Shorewood, and Romeoville.
Sun City is one of the most familiar residential landmarks in the Chicago area and Illinois. Its residents mention where they live, and people say, “Oh yes, I know that place.” The community’s Neighborhood Watch/Neighbors Helping Neighbors has become a national model, and won a national award for communications effectiveness in 2013. Members of the community’s competitive swimming team, the Sting Rays, have won many medals at Chicago area Senior Olympics and masters swimming competitions.
The association has developed partnerships with Centegra Medical Group for a wellness and immediate care center, with Jameson’s Charhouse for management of a restaurant and pub, and with Billy Casper Golf, which owns and operates the Whisper Creek Golf Course. No Sun City street goes in a straight line, and there isn’t a traffic light in the subdivision, just a few stop signs.
Sun City homes continue to be popular with home buyers, with a new generation of 55-and-over retirees now replacing some of the original buyers who moved on.
Sun City has packed more history into its first 15 years than many organization do over several generations. “I love it out here,” is a common theme expressed throughout the community.
