More than 10,000 sign Del Webb list

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 29, 2006 | by Cheryl Winkelman, STAFF WRITER

MANTECA -- The interest in the new active adult Del Webb community in Manteca is considerable: More than 10,000 people have signed a preferred customer list.

Most of those people are from California; about 30 percent are from the Central Valley and Sacramento.

Dick Prada, a 40-year Manteca resident, said he signed up because of "the fact that I live in a house that's too big."

Prada, 86, lives in a 3,000-square foot, three-bedroom home that sits on a 1/2-acre lot. He wants a smaller home -- maybe 1,600 feet - - with less responsibility.

He'll be able to pick from six different home models, all single- story, from 1,300 to 2,600 square feet, said Tony Hallbourg, Del Webb's spokesman.

The 355-acre Del Webb site is on Lathrop Road between Airport Way and Union Road. When completed in 2111, it will include more than 1,400 homes.

Hallbourg said demand for the homes may be so great because there are no other Del Webb communities in the Central Valley. A smaller, 750-home community is planned for Stockton, but pre-sales do not begin until late 2007.

Pre-sales for Manteca's community begin July 24, when the company will start a weekof sales seminars at the River Mill in French Camp for people who signed the preferred customer list. Floor plans and amenities will be discussed.

And the amenities, part of what contributes to the active Del Webb lifestyle, are extensive. In the 25,000-square foot recreation center will be a glass-enclosed, running/walking track, an indoor pool, a state-of-the-art fitness center, an exercise studio, a demonstration kitchen, an arts and crafts studio, a billiards room and space for classes, dancing, social clubs, cards, meetings and conferences.

Outdoor features include an 18-hole putting course, an outdoor pool, a lake, more than 17 acres of paths, trails and parks, a lakeside amphitheater, four bocce ball courts, four tennis courts and an outdoor sports facility with a regulation softball field, grandstand seating and an electronic scoreboard.

Del Webb built its first community in Phoenix in 1960. Today, Del Webb communities can be found in 22 states.

Other California Del Webb communities are in Roseville, Lincoln Hills, Beaumont, Indio, Bakersfield and Apple Valley. Soon-to-open communities will be in Hemet, Merced County and Elk Grove. Most are for residents 55 and older. Those who are at least 59 make up the first wave of the baby boomers, the largest-growing segment of the population.

Those interested in the preferred customer list can call (877) 922-9322 or visit http://www.delwebb.com.

To contact Cheryl Winkelman, call (209) 832-6144 or cwinkelman@angnewspapers.com.