After nearly a year of research, a large-scale developer of
retirement communities is still mulling over the possibility of
building one of its resort-inspired retreats, which could land up
to 5,000 new homes in the Hollister area.
Hollister – After nearly a year of research, a large-scale developer of retirement communities is still mulling over the possibility of building one of its resort-inspired retreats, which could land up to 5,000 new homes in the Hollister area.
Del Webb, a developer of active adult communities with facilities nationwide, has been researching San Benito County as a preferred place to build a retirement resort, according to Judy Bennett, the company’s director of public affairs.
“Our market research continues to show real interest,” she said.
Though the company’s research has found that people in Hollister and the surrounding region would like to see a retirement community built in the area, Bennett stressed that any actual project is still far off.
“This is a long-range plan,” she said. “There is still a lot that would have to be done. It’s not something that happens overnight.”
Del Webb builds two types of retirement communities for people age 55 and older who would like to downgrade from a large home and land to a smaller, more manageable single-family home, Bennett said.
The larger resort, called Sun City, includes a minimum of 1,000 acres of land and must accommodate a golf course, tennis courts, and a fitness and recreational center, she said. The other option is a “boutique city,” which is a community built on less than 1,000 acres of land and would not include a golf course but would include a club house, fitness center and walking trails, she said.
Bennett said the company hasn’t determined what would work in this area.
“That will come through our due diligence,” she said.
While local officials have said they’re open to the idea of a retirement community, they say they would only support such a project if it provides adequate public services and doesn’t mar the county’s rural appearance.
“We would have to make sure the infrastructure and roads are in place and continue to protect our rural character,” Supervisor Anthony Botelho said. “It would need to be well thought-out to put growth where it should be and protect agricultural land and open space.”
Botelho also said the county’s general plan needs to be revised before anyone considers building large developments.
In April, Hollister Mayor Pauline Valdivia met with Del Webb representatives who showed her a rendering of the Sun City resort – with 5,000 houses, a golf course and all the other amenities – that they would like to build in San Benito County and eventually annex into the city.
At that time Valdivia said it was a beautiful project, but she didn’t think the city’s infrastructure could support it.
Bennett said Del Webb has communities all over the nation, and several in California including locations in Placer, Sonoma and Riverside counties.
The price of a single-family home on its own lot in the resort depends on the real estate market of the area where it’s built. By comparison, however, homes in the developer’s Lincoln Hills project in Placer County range from $340,000 to $1 million. Bennett said the company sells about 1,000 homes a year on average at that project.
