The ambiance here is that of a village, and the builder is Meritage Homes (Engle Homes was the original developer, but they went bankrupt in 2008, and Meritage stepped in as developer in 2009).  There are villas and single family homes for sale, and there are nine floor plans, four of which are modeled.  Prices for resales start in the low- to mid-$100,000s, and new homes prices start in the mid-$100,000s.  Prices for both top out close to $300,000.    All residences have traditional southwestern architecture with golden stucco exteriors and red tile roofs.    Two car garages are standard, and all homes are one story.  HOA fees for the Villas are $194/month (exterior maintenance included) and for the single family homes are $147/month.   

Keeping residents mentally and physically active is a goal of Province.  There are a number of ways this occurs.  The fitness center has a cardio center, a weights area and an aerobics studio as well as steam rooms, an indoor lap pool and saunas.  Exercise classes include yoga, weightlifting and stretching.   The beautiful 32,000 sq. ft. community center offers classes in painting, sewing, sculpting, crafts and much more.  There is a music theater, a high speed Internet cafe and a game room.  Dances and festivals, presentations, open resident forums and even political rallies and debates also take place here.  An activities director makes sure that there is always something happening.  Visit the website for more information.

Province wants to be a friendly, welcoming place.  There are fifteen acres of outdoor facilities, including tennis courts, horseshoes, basketball courts and shuffleboard.  The 5,000 square foot outdoor pool is surrounded by green expanses which are surrounded by a lake; it makes pools in other retirement communities look silly.  Parks and promenades provide plenty of spots for community gatherings; hiking trails wind throughout, and a natural amphitheater plays host to performances and concerts.  The Duke Golf Club, adjacent to Province, offers discount rates and annual passes for Province residents.  With more than thirty percent of the development devoted to open space, residents have room to spread out and enjoy the well-designed beauty of their surroundings.   Eventually there will be 2,200 homes here; at this writing, roughly half of these are built.  

The community also has an eye toward the future and provides the latest in technology to assist residents in making their lives easier and safer.  All homes come standard with high-performance wiring that provides phone, fax, modem and high-speed digital computer transmission capabilities.  Other technological amenities (for additional cost) include broadband internet, a central vacuum system and an in-home security system.

Maricopa, the home of Province, has roughly 38,000 residents, many of them escapees from Phoenix.  It is racially mixed, primarily blue collar, and growing exponentially, nearly 3,000% (not a typo) in the last decade.    It gets hot here (100s during the summer are fairly common) but it is very dry.   Sunshine is plentiful year round.

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