Nalcrest is a

retirement community A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves. Assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socialization op ...

in Polk County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States. The community's ZIP code is 33856. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community's name is an

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

for National Association of Letter Carriers Retirement, Education, Security and Training, as it was designed by and continues to be operated by the Nalcrest Foundation, Inc., a branch of the

National Association of Letter Carriers The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) is an American labor union, representing non-rural letter carriers employed by the United States Postal Service. It was founded in 1889. The NALC has 2,500 local branches representing letter c ...

(NALC), the union representing

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

city letter carriers. It was the brainchild of

William Doherty William Doherty (May 15, 1857 in Cincinnati – May 25, 1901 in Nairobi) was an American entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera and later also collected birds for the Natural History Museum at Tring. He died of dysentery while in Nairobi. Tr ...

, the first United States Ambassador to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and NALC President from 1941 to 1962.

History and structure

Construction began in July 1962 and the community opened in 1963. Initially, due to HUD regulations, residency was open to both NALC members and others, but when the mortgage was paid in 2002, the HUD restrictions were removed and residency is now limited to NALC retirees in good standing only. The community consists of , of which are developed into 500 garden-style apartments. The remaining are undeveloped and include a manmade lake of 15 acres, around which the community is developed and connects to the 7,500 acre

Lake Weohyakapka Lake Weohyakapka is a lake in Polk County, Florida, in the United States. The name is derived from the Creek language, most likely meaning "walking on water". The turpentine settlement of Walinwa (Walk In Water) was once located by the lake and w ...

. The apartments are a mix of

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid making mistakes or wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time while performing a task. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. ...

and one-bedroom units, and all are on ground level. Units are leased on an annual basis and the rental rate includes water, sewer, trash removal, basic cable TV, interior/exterior maintenance, and use of the community's recreational facilities (but not electricity). Pets are not permitted. In addition to being NALC retirees in good standing, tenants must also be able to care for themselves and for housekeeping chores, as the community is not an assisted living facility and does not have an on-site physician.Nalcrest information from NALC
/ref> Among the most interesting features of the community is that, despite being a retirement community for postal letter carriers, there is no home mail delivery – residents must pick up their mail at the post office in the Town Center.

Activities

The community has a pool, tennis court, driving range,

bocce (, or , ), sometimes anglicized as bocce ball, bocci, or boccie, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French , with a common ancestry from anc ...

and horseshoe pits, and a softball field.

References

Unincorporated communities in Polk County, Florida United States Postal Service Retirement communities in Florida National Association of Letter Carriers Unincorporated communities in Florida Populated places established in 1963 1963 establishments in Florida {{PolkCountyFL-geo-stub