Del Webb Corporation
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The Del E. Webb Construction Company was a construction company that was founded in 1928 and developed by
Del Webb Delbert Eugene "Del" Webb (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974) was an American real-estate developer and a co-owner of the New York Yankees baseball club. He founded and developed the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, which was built by his ...
. Headquartered in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, United States, it became the Del E. Webb Corporation a publicly traded company on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
in 1960. The same year, the corporation unveiled Sun City, outside Phoenix, as the first community designed for senior citizens. Many more Sun Cities were built by the corporation in the following decades. Along with construction, the corporation was also involved in real estate and owned several hotels and casinos which were built and/or expanded by the company. The company was purchased in 2001 by Pulte Homes. Pulte Homes since merged with Centex Corp. and became
PulteGroup PulteGroup, Inc. is an American residential home-construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. As of 2023, the company is the third-largest home-construction company in the United States based on the number of homes closed. In t ...
. Del Webb continues as a brand of PulteGroup.


History


Founding

After moving from Fresno to Phoenix in 1928,
Del Webb Delbert Eugene "Del" Webb (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974) was an American real-estate developer and a co-owner of the New York Yankees baseball club. He founded and developed the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, which was built by his ...
began working for a small contractor who was building a grocery store. The contractor eventually left town without paying Webb or completing the grocery store, so Webb took over the business to complete the job. This became the foundation of his namesake construction company. Among his earliest commissions were grocery store buildings for the Basha family. Webb soon became known as a grocery store builder. However, Webb sought to expand his firm and eagerly sought out public sector jobs during the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1937 the firm opened a small branch office in Los Angeles to oversee construction of a high school there. With the onset of World War II the firm constructed several airfields throughout Arizona, as well as an internment camp for Americans with Japanese lineage at Poston (
Poston War Relocation Center The Poston Internment Camp, located in Yuma County (now in La Paz County) in southwestern Arizona, was the largest (in terms of area) of the 10 American concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II. The sit ...
). In 1943, Webb made trusted employee L. C. Jacobson a 25 percent partner. Jacobson eventually became vice president. In 1946 Webb was contracted by mobster
Bugsy Siegel Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (; February 28, 1906 – June 20, 1947) was an American gangster, mobster who was a driving force behind the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Siegel was influential within the Jewish-American organized crime, Jewish Mo ...
to build the
Flamingo Hotel Flamingo Las Vegas (formerly the Flamingo Hilton) is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The Flamingo includes a casino and a 28-story hotel with 3,460 rooms. The res ...
in Las Vegas. From 1947 to 1948 Webb built distribution centers and warehouses throughout the United States for the Kraft Foods Company. In the early 1950s Webb would be contracted to build facilities for
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...
. The Webb firm would go on to build several plants for Hughes. In 1952 the company founded its first subsidiary, the Del E. Webb Development Company, responsible for the design and construction of housing tracts and shopping centers. In 1953 the development company would begin construction on
San Manuel, Arizona San Manuel is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pinal County, Arizona, United States. The population was 3,551 at the 2010 census. San Manuel was built in 1953 by Del E. Webb Construction Company as a company town to serve the then-new San Ma ...
a mining town built out of nothing. In 1955 the Webb corporation began constructing hotels for the Flamingo Corporation, which Webb was part owner. The following year Webb constructed the first Hiway House Hotel, which was a company owned jointly by Webb and Flamingo. On March 1, 1958, Webb sold his share of the Flamingo hotels and Flamingo sold its share of Hiway House. Thus Webb became full owner of Hiway House, the hotel chain would be sold off in the early 1960s. As well as housing, during the 1950s, the construction company would build hospitals, hotels, and other large and small scale projects.


Sun City

Inspired by the construction of
Youngtown, Arizona Youngtown is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,056, up from 6,156 in 2010. It is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. History In 1954, two developers bought of farm ...
, Del E. Webb began planning the construction of a retirement community for senior citizens in 1959. The development was planned as an age-restricted community of modern
ranch-style house Ranch (also known as American ranch, California ranch, rambler, or rancher) is a domestic architectural style that originated in the United States. The ranch-style house is noted for its long, close-to-the-ground profile, and wide open layout. ...
s, with facilities such as a
shopping center A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
,
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
,
motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the Parking lot, parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central Lobby (room), lo ...
, and
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
. On January 1, 1960, the development company unveiled
Sun City, Arizona Sun City is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The population wa ...
as the first community designed for senior citizens. More than 100,000 senior citizens were present at the community's unveiling, which marked the first planned retirement community in the United States. Sun City was a success, with the company selling 237 homes within its first three days of opening. It was followed by Sun City, California, the Kern City,
Sun City Center, Florida Sun City Center is an unincorporated census-designated place (CDP) in southern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is located south of Tampa and north of Sarasota on I-75. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,952. The ZIP C ...
, and similar developments in
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
.


Public incorporation

In December 1960, the Del E. Webb Construction Company went public on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
trading as WBB. The company also became known as the Del E. Webb Corporation at this time. In 1961, the Webb Corporation acquired the Sahara Nevada Corporation and its holdings of the
Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
and
Mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...
hotels in Las Vegas. This made Webb the first publicly held corporation to be involved in Las Vegas gaming. Webb would go on to purchase, build, and expand several properties throughout Nevada. In the 1960s Webb would develop a chain of high-end, multi-story hotels called Towne House. During this time, the corporation was also deeply involved in the development of
Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village (Illinois), village in DuPage County, Illinois, with a very small portion in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County. The population was 8,163 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Chicago, it contains th ...
,
Clear Lake City, Texas Clear Lake City is a master-planned community located in southeast Harris County, Texas, within the Galveston Bay Area, Bay Area of Greater Houston. It is the second-largest master-planned community in Houston – behind Kingwood, Houston ...
and Alamaden, California. In the late 1960s, the corporation entered a joint venture building infrastructure for several South American countries, which was the firm's first engagement outside the United States. Also at this time, the corporation formed an additional subsidiary, the Del E. Webb Building Management Company, which was responsible for building management and would eventually become the Del E. Webb Realty and Management Company when the subsidiary expanded to include holding leases on public buildings. In 1971, the corporation acquired Merlin Hotels, which had many properties throughout East Asia. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the corporation continued to construct many large and small scale projects including housing, schools, hospitals, hotels, high rises, convention centers, athletic venues, and airports. The company would also continue to keep close ties to Las Vegas and its gaming industry, working on a major expansion of Caesars Palace in the mid-1970s. The company was involved in a number of construction projects commissioned by the
United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
, including the construction of a rocket engine test stand at
Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...
. The company also built military housing on
Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the ...
,
Whiteman Air Force Base Whiteman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located just south of Knob Noster, Missouri, Knob Noster, Missouri, United States. The base is the current home of the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, B-2 Spirit bomber. It is named for Geor ...
and
Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg S ...
. The company's founder, Webb was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for Patriotic Civilian Service by Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...
as recognition for these projects.


Reorganization and sale to Pulte Homes

In 1987, the decision was made to divest the gaming, hotel, and realty management sections of the corporation, all of the Webb-owned properties were sold off, and the corporation was reorganized to focus solely on the concept of master-planned communities for senior citizens. New communities opened in Arizona, Nevada, California, and Texas. During the 1990s,
Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...
began holding speaking engagements at these retirement communities, for which the company tried to reward him by nicknaming a star after him in 1993. In 2001 the corporation was purchased by
Pulte Homes PulteGroup, Inc. is an American residential home-construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. As of 2023, the company is the third-largest home-construction company in the United States based on the number of homes closed. In t ...
. The Del Webb name is used by Pulte as a brand name for its age-restricted communities.


Works

Works built by the Del E. Webb Construction Company, (1928-1960) later the Del E. Webb Corporation (1960-2001) are listed in the table. Several works by the firm are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
(NRHP).


Properties

Properties owned, managed and/or operated by Del E. Webb Corporation. In the 1950s Webb began building shopping centers which were also owned or jointly owned by Webb through several wholly owned subsidiaries. The Del E. Webb Building Management Co. was created in 1968 as a subsidiary. It then became the Del E. Webb Realty & Management Co. in 1970. Major properties that fall under this umbrella Include Uptown Plaza Shopping Center, Camelback Village Square, Christown Mall and the Rosenzweig Center all in Phoenix, Campbell Plaza and Wilmont Medical Center in Tucson, Executive and Commerce Plazas in Oak Brook and the Stardust Country Club (renamed Sahara-Nevada Country Club) in Las Vegas. The Webb Corp. also served as leasing agent to many large companies including
Prudential Insurance Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American financial services company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the Uni ...
, Travelers Insurance, Arizona-Colorado Land & Cattle Company,
Valley National Bank Valley National Bancorp, trade name, doing business as Valley Bank, is a regional bank holding company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, with approximately $64 billion in assets. Its principal subsidiary, Valley National Bank (also doin ...
, Feau Realty & Development and Hartford Insurance Company. The company's interest in commercial properties continued until 1987 at which time these properties were sold.


See also

* ''
Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co. ''Spur Industries v. Del E. Webb Development Co.'', 108 Ariz. 178, 494 P.2d 700 (1972) is a Supreme Court of Arizona case that demonstrates the principles of nuisance law. It is also used in at least one law school remedies case book to demonstr ...
'' *
Del Webb Delbert Eugene "Del" Webb (May 17, 1899 – July 4, 1974) was an American real-estate developer and a co-owner of the New York Yankees baseball club. He founded and developed the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona, which was built by his ...


References


External links

*{{official website, http://www.delwebb.com
Del Webb Corporation history, at www.fundinguniverse.com
Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States