Some 660 miles west of Denver, a steady flow of Coloradans walks through the door and into Del Webb’s model home center in Mesquite, Nevada, a half hour’s drive down I-15 from St. George, Utah. Some of them have gotten off the highway for a look at Sun City Mesquite during sojourns south to Las Vegas, but others are making a special trip to Mesquite after asking Del Webb for a $99 special for two nights at Eureka Casino Resort in return for touring the models.
“They’re still coming,” says Del Webb’s Michelle Bevan, who moved to Sun City nine years ago from California. “We’ve been so busy, and there’s unusually heavy traffic from Colorado.”
Eighty miles north of Vegas, Mesquite has seven golf courses, including Conestoga Golf Club, a Troon course where Del Webb has a new neighborhood open called Wishing Well on the eighth fairway. The town is now , with Women’s Softball up next weekend.
However, it’s not sports but prices that drive traffic to Sun City, says Bevan.
“It used to be the snow, but now people from Denver are having a hard time buying homes once they’ve sold theirs,” she says. Bevan cites numbers of conversations with metro Denver buyers, where a median home now costs $372,500 (condos factored in!), and where new single-level ranches are in even higher demand, pushing into the $400s and $500s in new areas.
Denverites, she adds, mention “bidding wars” and “congestion” as additional reasons they’re looking west.
In Mesquite, population 16,000, they find an age-50-plus community where new single-family ranches start in the $180s — and where a new two-bedroom/two-and-a-half-bath Lilac ranch plan, 1,715 square feet plus a two-car attached garage, is from $249,990. Del Webb shows three collections of models, with the very largest “Journey” plan, 2,550 square feet, from the premium Encore series, starting at just over $330,000.
At Sun City, those homes are close to a community clubhouse with pool, tennis and neighborhood grill, along with the intangible amenities that Denver buyers like at age-restricted communities here — lots of neighborhood activities in groups and clubs, some of them coordinated, others more or less spontaneous. Mesquite is tucked up close to the canyon country around southern Utah, with seven national parks and monuments arrayed within four hours’ drive, including Zion National Park an hour north, with stunning canyon scenery.
What you WON’T find in Mesquite is pressure to buy inventory homes — they’ve been selling out. Rather, you’ll see new sites in Wishing Well, some overlooking the fairway, where you can contract on a home to order. Bevan says you’re welcome to drive the nine hours out to Mesquite and drop in; however, with the volume Sun City is luring, if you want the $99 resort casino special, you need to call ahead. Sun City is off I-15 at Mesquite’s south exit, Falcon Ridge Parkway. Call 702-345-3993 and ask for the Explore Del Webb special, including guest passes for a complimentary lunch on the course; or visit SunCityMesquite.com. (If you’re bringing a dog, your stay will be at a pet-friendly Holiday Inn.)
If you go…
Where: by Del Webb, active adult 50+ lifestyle community in Mesquite, Nevada; low prices, golf course, clubhouse & events, selection of ranch-style, single-family homes ready or near-ready; “Explore Del Webb” $99 special at Eureka Casino Resort. 1300 Flat Top Mesa Drive, Mesquite, Nev.; from I-15 take Exit 120, Falcon Ridge Pkwy, turn north 1.9 mi. to Flat Top Mesa Dr., right 0.3 mi. to models
Price: From $181,990
When: Today & daily 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Phone: 702-345-3993
More Info:
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this postap preparation.