SUN CITY – Sun City’s gatehouse may have a brighter, more colorful future.
The Board of Directors, plus the Facility Advisory and Marketing Committees, have tentatively decided to preserve and continue to maintain the empty, unused structure at Del Webb Boulevard and Route 47. They also are considering plans to add some night-time illumination, art work, and a way-finding sign.
The word “tentative” is the operative word now right now. No final, formal decision has been made. The board informally indicated its support of proposals from the two committees, at a board committee of the whole meeting on November 4. A final vote on the plan is scheduled for the next board meeting on December 2.
Dennis O’Leary, board liaison to the Facility Committee, said that the board decided recently to focus on enhancing the building at a modest cost, instead of engaging in a debate about whether or not to raze the building.
“We have received a lot of input from residents, and most of it favors preserving the building and enhancing it,” O’Leary said. “The facility committee has resurrected a five-year-old proposal by a resident to illuminate the building at night. They are still working on that and it should be finalized soon. The Marketing Committee also has provided some ideas for other enhancements.”
The current tentative plan includes “lantering” the inside of the building, somewhat similar to the way lighthouses are illuminated on ocean shores.
“A translucent material would be placed on the windows, and a lantern-style light would be placed on the inside and turned on at night. The Marketing Committee has suggested placing colorful artwork and/or photographs in windows on the outgoing (south) side of the building depicting scenes of the four seasons. Finally, a way-finding sign and map would be placed in a window on the incoming (north) side of the building, describing the way for newcomers to get to Prairie Lodge.”
The cost, O’Leary said, is estimated to be between $4,000 and $5,000.
Even though the building has not been used for more than 15 years, it is being maintained. This includes periodic cleaning and painting of inside spaces and the building’s exterior, and operating and maintaining HVAC and plumbing facilities, which are used only minimally.
The gatehouse was the first structure built at Sun City, in 1999. Early-arriving residents say the facility was initially used briefly as a guardhouse for new residents who came to the community to check the progress on the construction of their homes. Today, some residents say the gatehouse conveys the impression that Sun City is a gated community. But that was never the intention of Del Webb Corp. or the Village of Huntley, according to historical research conducted in recent years by the Sun Day.
