Sun City Center Tampa/Sarasota

[gomoho]

A company called Minto had and add in today's paper about their new 55+ community in the Tampa/Sarasota area. Looks intriguing - anyone been there or familiar with this company. I thought Dell Webb had a lock on the Sun City name, but apparently not???

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

There used to be a development called Sun City Center about halfway between Sarasota and Tampa when I lived in Sarasota in the 80s.

[ROCKETMAN]

We visited sun city when we were looking. It is a little south of tampa. Had 2 golf courses but the people seemed as an average much older than village people.

[Lark7]

WCI Communities was the previous developer of Sun City Center until WCI declared bankruptcy; thereafter, Minto purchased some of the vacant land so as to further develop and build houses.

[gomoho]

Thanks for the info Lark7 - they are advertising 6 golf courses now and some very nice sounding amenities. Guess they are trying to revive the place.

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

http://www.minto.com/img/ppages/111/Sun_City_Center_Map.jpg

[PaPaLarry]

:clap2::clap2:I just Love where I'm at!!!!!!!

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[Carla B]

Senior, we looked briefly at Tradition in 2008 on our way up from Delray to see The Villages. It is a large all-age community with an over-55 section. The lots in the 55+ part of it were ready but not built on and were barricaded due to the bankruptcy of Levitz Bros.

The Minto models in the all-ages section were beautiful, but the property taxes seemed very high. All in all it didn't look as "put together" as TV.

[gomoho]

So I will go back to my original question has anyone RECENTLY seen this property in the Tampa/Sarasota area that Minto has take over and supposedly has 6 golf courses? I plan on going for a visit, but was curious if anyone had already been there.

[Bonnevie]

I looked closely at Sun City because it would have a lot of advantages for me. I could continue to work part time at my job. I could sell my house in St. Pete and buy a resale for much less. However, having talked with people who have parents who live there, the number of activities just aren't there. The Minto development is on the Kingpointe side of Sun City. The original Sun City by Del Webb is another area. There was an effort to update facilities at the original Sun City but the residents voted it down. they have aged out somewhat and probably don't use the facilities as much and don't want to have to spend more money and despite being advised resale would be better if boomers found it attractive, they voted down improvements. If you notice the listed amenities for the Minto development they mention 4 pickleball courts--having read some of their newsletters that's a big source of conflict--the inability to get play time. So after looking at all that, I wanted a place where there would be tons of things to do and other people who wanted to stay really active. Economically Sun City made the most sense, being close to Tampa and the beaches was a plus, but as a single, I worried there would not be enough to do there for me. Once I saw TV and number of clubs and activities, I chose TV.

[Bonnevie]

I will add, however, that you would get much more home for your money there. don't know about the golf situation. It's certainly worth a look. It's maintained very well and the club house is very nice. I'm not a golfer so don't know about that.

[Bonnevie]

this link will tell you about the golf course situation. I believe you have to pay for a membership.

Home - Club Renaissance (http://clubrenaissance.clublink.com/)

[jamarcus]

My wife and I lived in a 55 and older Minto community in Wellington, FL for the past 8 years and just recently moved from there to The Villages. Minto builds a superb and high quality home; ours was a 4 bedroom, 4 bath multi story home. Too big for retirees so we moved up here. I know nothing about his new development but he is a great builder who stands behind his properties.

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[manaboutown]

Here is a link to another Sun City Center site. Senior, the link you provided does appear to show only professional models. The same models are posed in several scenarios. This link seems to reveal some actual residents. It even provides videos of board meetings.

Sun City Center Florida Activities - Dancing and Music Clubs (http://suncitycenter.org/activities/dance-a-music.html)

One of my major concerns is the "aging out" of any 55 and over community. As people age they not only vote down updating and improving existing recreational facilities as well as building new ones because of the costs involved but additionally because it will increase their property taxes for the value added to their homes by the community improvements. Hopefully, that will not become an issue for The Villages.

[Bonnevie]

it is indeed what you want. I moved to Florida 28 years ago and wanted to be by the beach. My current house is literally 3 minutes from the beach. The whole area has beaches along it, Madeira Beach, Redington, Indian Rocks--I have my pick. Dunedin is a cute city with neat shops downtown. However, I rarely go to the beach. It's just not as much of an attraction as it was. A big drawback to living here is the cost of homeowner's insurance. Most of us have to have the state insurer and it's a constant headache. I will save over $1100 a year in property insurance when I get my house here sold. Sun City is more inland and insurance is more affordable there as well.
btw that historic sailing ship sank trying to get away from hurricane sandy.

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[patfla06]

Sun City Center is in Hillsborough County which has high taxes.
Also when you shop or eat out you have to go to Brandon which is a ZOO!
The traffic is horrendous in Brandon.

We looked at Sun City Center (live in Tampa) and you cannot compare to T.V.
People are much more active in T.V.

[Indy-Guy]

The articles below are a few years old but cover the past problems at Sun City. Mostly caused by the Chinese dry wall problems that eventually put the original developer into bankruptcy.

Sun City Center Chinese dry wall problems.

Sun City Center homeowners look for help to repair Chinese drywall | Tampa Bay Times (http://www.tampabay.com/news/growth/sun-city-center-homeowners-look-for-help-to-repair-chinese-drywall/1082520)

Golf Course problems

WCI selling three golf courses; Sun City Center has first shot | Tampa Bay Times (http://www.tampabay.com/news/aging/lifetimes/wci-selling-three-golf-courses-sun-city-center-has-first-shot/1020743)

[gomoho]

What happened in the past is definitely bad news - a supposedly reputable company has purchased the vacant land and is starting from scratch with higher end homes and supposedly 6 golf courses. Curious if anyone has recent information - such as been there in the last year.

[capecodder1]

We rented in Sun City Center for 3 months in 2012.
I realize that everyone has different needs and likes, but having said that,
there is no comparison to the Villages. Sun City Center is a very old, outdated community, badly in need of updating, but the residents like it the way it is and do not want to improve the community. While we were there, there was an effort to get some modernization approved, and it was hotly contested and defeated.
Yes, there are some new homes being built, and there are some nice areas, and some very nice people.

We left Sun City Center early, rented in The Villages for a week on our way home, returned this winter and bought a new home in Gilchrist.