Sunland Village vs. Sunland Village East vs. Sunland Springs Village

"Sunland Village, Sunland Village East, and Sunland Springs Village — those are all the same place, right?" I get some version of that question almost every time I show one of these East Mesa 55+ communities. It's an understandable mix-up. The names overlap, the communities sit close together, and all three are built around golf. But they're three separate, independently built neighborhoods with real differences in size, age, price, and feel — and picking the right one matters more than the shared name suggests.

Sunland Village

Sunland Village is the original of the three, built between 1974 and 1984 with 2,685 homes centered on its own 18-hole executive golf course. The golf clubhouse is home to Rochester's restaurant, and the main clubhouse auditorium and bandshell host dances, showtime performances, and weekly matinee movies. Between three pools, a jacuzzi, and courts for tennis, pickleball, bocce, and shuffleboard, there's no shortage of ways to stay active, and an arts and crafts wing with a woodshop, sewing room, and lapidary studio gives hobbyists dedicated space of their own. Thursday bingo nights are a longstanding tradition here.

Homes have generally run from around $200,000 to $400,000, which makes Sunland Village one of the more accessible entry points into a genuinely golf-centered, resort-style lifestyle in this part of Mesa.

Sunland Village East

Sunland Village East sits just to the east of Sunland Village proper, and while the two share a name and a similar era, they're separate communities with their own boundaries, HOA, and amenities. It was built between 1984 and 1994 — a decade newer than its neighbor — with 2,437 homes, including garden condo phases that Sunland Village doesn't have.

Rather than one central clubhouse, Sunland Village East has two recreation centers, a North and South complex, at either end of the neighborhood. Between them, residents have three pools, six lighted tennis courts, bocce and shuffleboard courts, and hobby rooms for woodworking, ceramics, lapidary, stained glass, and sewing. The South Complex tends to be the busier of the two, with the larger fitness center and pickleball courts. It also has its own 18-hole golf course, separate from Sunland Village's.

Homes here have generally ranged from around $200,000 to $500,000 — a wider band than Sunland Village, reflecting the mix of standard homes and garden condos.

Sunland Springs Village

Sunland Springs Village is the odd one out in a good way: bigger, newer, and built out over a much longer stretch of time. Spread across roughly 900 acres with 2,890 homes, it was developed gradually from 1997 to 2020, which means you'll find a noticeably wider mix of home styles and ages here than in the other two — detached homes alongside single-level garden condos, all within one community.

It's built around a 27-hole executive golf course — bigger than either Sunland Village's or Sunland Village East's 18 holes — with two separate recreation hubs to match the community's size. The 10,000-square-foot main clubhouse has a fitness room, card room, arts and crafts studio, library, billiards, and an outdoor lap pool, while a second 13,000-square-foot recreation center adds a resort-style pool, spa, and courts for tennis, pickleball, and bocce. A full-time activities director keeps dozens of clubs running, from ballroom dance and Bible study to birding and biking groups.

Because homes here span more than two decades of construction, prices and HOA fees vary quite a bit depending on the section and vintage. I'd rather pull current numbers for a specific home you're considering than quote a general range that might not mean much for the section you actually like.

How I'd Think About Choosing Between Them

If budget and an established, settled feel matter most, Sunland Village is worth a close look — it's the most affordable of the three and has the longest track record as a community. If you want that same established East Mesa feel with a bit more variety in home style and a slightly newer build era, Sunland Village East is the natural next stop. And if you want the newest construction options, the biggest golf course, or simply more variety in home age and style under one roof, Sunland Springs Village tends to be the better fit.

• Sunland Village: 2,685 homes, built 1974–1984, roughly $200K–$400K, one 18-hole course, one main clubhouse
• Sunland Village East: 2,437 homes, built 1984–1994, roughly $200K–$500K, its own 18-hole course, two recreation centers (North & South)
• Sunland Springs Village: 2,890 homes, built 1997–2020, prices vary by section/vintage, one 27-hole course, two recreation hubs

None of these three are gated, for what it's worth — if a gated entrance matters to you, that's a bigger differentiator with communities like Fountain of the Sun than it is between these three.

Descriptions only get you so far with communities this close together — the golf course, the clubhouse, and the general feel of each one really do come across better in person. I'm happy to set up a tour of all three back-to-back so you can compare them directly rather than guess from a page like this one.

Curious which of the three fits what you're looking for? Reach out and I'll put together a tour.

— Corey Martinez, Broker Associate REALTOR®