Opportunities Seen for Retail Developers in Sun City Area

Retail developers seeking an overlooked area could do worse than consider the Sun City area of Riverside County, according to a survey conducted by an Orange County real estate research and land brokerage firm.

The 22,000 residents of Sun City must travel at least 10 miles to Rancho California, Perris or Hemet to do most of their shopping, according to Penelope Eaton of Eaton Development Services Inc., Laguna Niguel.

The largest undersupplied market in Sun City is that of household goods, fully 95% of which ($3.9 million of the $4.1 million annual market) is unmet by Sun City retailers, she said. The greatest consumer necessity--supermarkets--has an unmet demand of nearly $8.3 million, resulting in 1 of every 4 consumers buying groceries out of town.

Sun City’s population is expected to grow to nearly 71,000 by the year 2010, Eaton said.