Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

New Rec Center to open in one year

Sun City Anthem recreational center

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

Standing alongside Roz Berman, the 2008 president of the Sun City Anthem Community Association, Inc., Henderson City Councilman Andy Hafen, left, congratulates the HOA board and community members for their contribution in the development of the Sun City Anthem recreational center during the highly anticipated groundbreaking ceremony on Friday.

Sun City Anthem Rec Center

Sue Enge of Pulte Homes, right, and top-level managers of TWC Construction inspect the first excavated hole, which exposed existing underground pipes at the construction site of the Sun City Anthem recreational center on Friday.
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As shovels hit the ground Oct. 30, many Sun City Anthem residents breathed a sigh of relief as construction officially began on the community's third recreation center, for which planning began nearly seven years ago.

The long-awaited groundbreaking, which featured members of Sun City Anthem Community Association, Pulte Homes and the Henderson City Council, brought peace to some of the 13,000 residents who expected the center to be finished years before.

"The passage of time … will produce a great benefit," Roz Berman, president of the Sun City Anthem Community Association board, said.

The center is expected to be finished in a year and will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified.

The recreation center was drawn into the master plan when it was revised nearly seven years ago, Roger Cooper, secretary of the Sun City board, said. It will be available for use only to the residents of Sun City Anthem.

Some of the amenities will include five tennis courts, eight bocce courts, indoor and outdoor pools and a barbecue area.

Residents living throughout Anthem said they're glad to see the center one step closer to reality, even if it's not close enough for them to use.

Benjamin does not live near the new center, but she and her husband, Lowell, agreed it was necessary to have three centers so that all residents can have a quality center nearby.

Cindy Reay and Mary Jo Webber, on the other hand, said they do live within walking distance of the third center. It will offer a lot of amenities — such as a year-round, outdoor pool — that they're looking forward to, they said. It will also help spread out the residents that use each of the centers to prevent occasional crowding issues.

"It does get pretty busy down here," Webber said, referring to Anthem and Independence centers, the two currently available to residents.

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].

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