What would it take?

Yes, Fiona, the mid-century modern has been underappreciated but I am glad it is getter wider exposure. I like your idea of promoting that aspect of Sun City. Are you on the marketing committee? Seems like it might be a good spot for someone with fresh ideas like yours. I also wish SCHOA would be more involved in handing out certificates recognizing good restorations as well as remodels, and maybe the historical society could help with enhancing appreciation for what we have in that respect too. Maybe little plaques for homes deemed to be good historical examples of the original. It would help create some pride of ownership for even the most modest of homes and might help perk up some areas of Phase I.

 

It is fun to be the youngsters in the neighborhood....when we first started coming down to the house in Sun City, we often laughed at the fact that in our neighborhood in Colorado we were the old folks, but when we hit Sun City we were the youngsters. Now, not so much, I believe the newest people in our neighborhood are a year or two younger than we are.

 

I would love it if there was some central meeting place/coffee shop where people could drop in and meet their neighbors....but I realize that Sun City is really too large for that...perhaps more realistic would be several neighborhood gathering places, dotted around Sun City. For now, we meet the most people while walking the dogs in the medians on Alabama and 107th.....we have often remarked that it would be nice if there were some benches in the neighborhood medians so we could sit and talk....I'm hoping that maybe the new dog park will provide one such place.

 

archer, I'm with you, and one per phase would be cool, but I think if there were a hub where you had access to "business" we have to do, pay SCHOA, RCSC, taxes at SCAN, and added access to food, places to comfortably flop or play a spontaneous game of checkers or dominoes, etc., put pieces in a puzzle, use the wi-fi, etc., it would be great. The Student Union concept. Still think this be part of long-range planning and shouldn't be made too long-range. All these recent re-dos of Bell and Fairway, now Marinette, none with this consideration. Why aren't the residents integral to the process? These choices involve too much money and affect the quality of life so much--with the power to transform it actually, yet only a small committee gets to make these decisions? They should solicit input from all, condense the info into viable choices, and let us vote!

 

I often wondered why my local Rec Center....Oakmont....doesn't have a central courtyard, or coffee shop, where residents could enjoy each others company....it is a perfect location...across the street from Fry's, next to a shopping center and the museum. Sure...it's a recreation center...but it could be so much more....and it sure could use a face lift. Those of us in the first areas of phase I sometimes feel like the poor step children of Sun City, the people that SCRC forgot.

 

But at least you have a very nice snack shop at the golf course across from Fry's and that's very close to Oakmont, just across lawn bowling. Sundial has nothing near it with just a water dispenser and 2 soda machines, so I look at your snack shop longingly and do enjoy time spent there on the patio watching the putters putt, seeing the F-16s soar, looking at the peaceful backyards of the first homes in Sun City.
I'm sure there will be major changes to Oakmont and that's kinda good and bad since there is something to be said for historic significance, but you guys do deserve something more up-to-date too. There was talk of the craft places becoming offices and maybe consolidating some of the clubs like clay with another rec center. Who knows? That's all stuff that needs to be discussed in open forums with input from all of us like I suggested in the previous post.

 

Love this conversation. Perhaps there could be mobile refreshment carts at each center throughout the week. I've always thought a coffee shop with availablity of purchasing Fair Trade Products and a place to connect, trade books, read, check e-mail, etc. would be great in the Thrift Store Lane on 107th and Peoria. Could sponsor poetry reading, also.

 

The Bell Library has a room that can be used for socializing.
It isn't huge and I think it has to be reserved.
I'll check into it the next time I'm there.

 

That would be a great project for the ecumenical group to spearhead. Imagine various faith orgs pulling together and having a regular presence instead of just the hymn sings and Unity Week. The community living room concept seems to be dragging with RCSC, so maybe your proposal is the way to go! Empty space at La Ronde shopping center where Tivoli left may be good too--

 

Great idea, SCJ! La Ronde is a good location!

 

Well it's pretty central to all the phases and Del Webb is our middle north/south street, and La Ronde certainly is now underutilized. As with most commercial props though, some landlords would rather have spaces sit vacant than rent them for something below what they perceive their worth to be. Main thing is we get these ideas out there and continue to explore options.

 

La Ronde would be super convient for me.

Suncityjack: Have you considered running for an office at Rec Center or some other Sun City organization?
Not a club.

BTW. I read your article in the newspaper.

 

It was a surprise that of all the posts we make, the ones that get picked for the paper....
Oh yes, I've considered running for something pegmih, but I operate best on ad hoc committees with a specific goal and some beginning and end date, and I need a flexible schedule bec. of personal commitments and obligations. Presently, as part of Northwest Valley Transportation Stakeholders and two of their subcommittees, that's 'nuf for now.

 

Does something of this nature...a central meeting spot/coffee shop/community center need to go through RCSC, or only if it is on Rec Center property?

 

Imagine only if RCSC property, so I'm thinking if it became a project of some group like an ecumenical team it might be quicker. I'd prefer it to be a RCSC project but doesn't seem they are moving in that direction. Lost their big opportunity to get back Lakes Club, offers made to do something at Talisman with 50th anniv. money, etc. Foundation has flexibility re: its funds, so would like to see it move in that direction--good opportunity for creating a tangible fund-raising goal with a long-lasting presence and benefits for all. But it needs to be the sort of place people want to hang out in. Men hang out in Men's Club at Sundial all the time, playing cards, watching the big screen while lounging in big comfy sofas and chairs, having access to food and snacks, etc. Isn't it time the other half has something similar and where the guys who don't just want to hole up in the Sundial Man Cave can hang and mingle?

 

I like the idea, have even lobbied for such a place in the past, I just think it has to be more local than "Sun City", perhaps by phases, or even smaller neighborhoods......we would probably not go north of grand for a gathering place, which is why I mentioned Oakmont, at least for our neighborhood. The infrastructure is already in place with the Rec Centers/golf courses.......it's simply a case of allocating and redesigning the space....I would love to see both indoor/outdoor space.

 

I normally see all of my friends either at the gym, pools, and/or dances....And a nice group of us for Sunday Coffee after church... However, it might be nice to have "another place for gathering" of friends.

 

Yeah, a really umbrella-like "third place" --(nice name for a hangout too) but here's Wiki's version and it involves much of what we're talking about:
"The third place (also known as third space) is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg (1989, 1991) argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.
Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace — where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. All societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to current societal needs. Oldenburg suggests the following hallmarks of a true "third place":
Free or inexpensive
Food and drink, while not essential, are important
Highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance)
Involve regulars – those who habitually congregate there
Welcoming and comfortable
Both new friends and old should be found there."

 

When I was in my 20s we called this place the local bar.

 

We could do with one of those too.......would be fun to have a local place where we could go have a drink during happy hour.