Despite an ongoing battle with coronavirus, Sun City maintains a healthy financial outlook.
As Illinois residents brace themselves for Governor J.B. Pritzker’s extension to the stay-at-home order until the end of May, uncertainty remains of what consequences are to come by continuing to keep certain businesses closed. Despite the modified order now allowing certain state parks and golf courses to open with strict regulations in place, Sun City amenities, for the most part, will remain closed.
As many Sun City residents are probably already aware, Deanna Loughran, the executive director for Sun City, First Residential, has been communicating updates regarding how Sun City is to proceed forward as information and guidance become available from state and local health agencies.
“Our business is no different than any other business in that we are subject to the shelter in place order. That means that, for now, all of our lodges are closed and residents are not allowed to participate in any of the regular activities offered to them,” Loughran said.
With the current state of the US economy now almost rivaling that of the Great Depression according to some economists, one of the most devastating impacts due to the coronavirus pandemic is the loss of jobs for millions of people nationwide. A consequence that Sun City was not excluded from.
“Unfortunately, we had to reduce our part-time staff who worked at the front desks since business has slowed down. Most of our staff has been retained though. Our maintenance and custodial crews are still on site and doing their jobs around Sun City,” Loughran said.
The exact timing of when life will return to normal remains unclear with some experts arguing that the economy is not expected to bounce back until late 2022. Loughran agrees that the economic downturn has had some financial repercussions to Sun City, but assures that the situation is not dire.
“We do have a loss of revenue because of the lack of lifestyle offerings we are used to delivering, but we anticipate savings in other utilities. There are no huge budget implications. Sun City, Huntley is financially healthy,” Loughran explains.
While some of Sun City’s outdoor amenities, such as the Whisper Creek golf course, are scheduled to re-open on May 1 in accordance to the updated executive order, Loughran is still working out the details of what the next phase of re-openings for Sun City will look like. Currently, however, it appears that there are no plans to include trip offerings or large group events.
In the meantime, Loughran says, “We’re continuing to offer a lifestyle to residents, virtually. We’ve been trying to reach out by telephone to help in any way we can. We’re trying to expand our services to be as helpful as we can be during this time.”
