Rossmoor is a gated community in

Walnut Creek A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, ''Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true bo ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, with a population of about 9,200. It was one of the first "active adult" communities for residents 55 years or older in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

History

In the 1930s, the shipping tycoon Stanley Dollar constructed an estate in Tice Creek Valley near Walnut Creek in Contra Costa County. The Dollars bred purebred Hereford cattle and raised show horses. Over the years they expanded the estate of to . In 1960, R. Stanley Dollar, Jr. (the son of the shipping magnate) sold the family estate to Ross W. Cortese. Cortese owned a development company called Rossmoor Corporation. He had been active in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and the unincorporated community there named Rossmoor was one of his projects. After finishing Rossmoor he started on a new idea of private gated

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

for active seniors called Leisure World, starting with the Seal Beach Leisure World in

Seal Beach Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the w ...

in 1960. Leisure World promised low-cost housing, coupled with services appropriate to Cortese's view of retirement;

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 tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

s, swimming pools, clubhouses, riding stables, transportation, medical services and a host of administrative employees so that the residents did not have to bother themselves with house and yard maintenance, even little things like

waste collection Waste collection is a part of the process of waste management. It is the transfer of solid waste from the point of use and disposal to the point of treatment or landfill. Waste collection also includes the curbside collection of recyclable ...

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

service and watering the lawn. Cortese's plans were too ambitious and he lost control of Rossmoor in Walnut Creek almost immediately after ground was first broken. The name "Leisure World" is still used as a trademark by Cortese's family, but it has not been applied to Rossmoor in Walnut Creek for many years. Cortese's idea was popular, and others carried out his scheme.

Community description

Rossmoor Walnut Creek is a senior adult community located in the Tice Valley area of Walnut Creek, California. The community is two miles (3 km) from downtown Walnut Creek, and from downtown

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Development of the community began in 1963 and, today, there are approximately 6,700 residential units in three cooperatives, 12 condominium and one single-family home developments (referred to as Homeowner Associations or HOAs). Forty percent of the homes are garden-style duplexes to four-plexes, and the remaining are either mid-to-high-rise, and one area of 63 individual single-family homes. Homes vary in price from mid $200,000s for some cooperatives to over $1 million for the single-family homes and garden style condominiums. At least one resident must be 55 years of age or older to live in a home in Rossmoor. Amenities include two NCGA-rated golf courses (one nine-hole and one 18-hole), a large indoor pool and fitness complex, two outdoor pools, six tennis courts, lawn bowling greens, bocce courts, hiking trails and table tennis facilities.

Management

Rossmoor is managed by the Golden Rain Foundation, which is a nonprofit corporation. It has nine directors, each elected from separate districts in Rossmoor. Each director serves a three-year term, with no director serving for more than two terms.Golden Rain Foundation (2011).
Golden Rain Foundation of Walnut Creek Bylaws
, Article IV, Section 2(c)

References

External links

Official site

Weekly newspaper site
{{Contra Costa County, California Neighborhoods in Walnut Creek, California Gated communities in California