Military retirement community serves those who served
By Maria Sonnenberg
Forty years ago, the Wickham Road exit off Interstate 95 was surrounded by vast pastures. On the west side of the road, cows grazed where Viera Hospital, Urban Prime Restaurant and Trader Joe’s now stand. The east side was as equally unpopulated, but a retired Air Force general was about to change all that.
Brig. Gen. Charlie Briggs had retired from the U.S. Air Force and envisioned a community that would provide “service to those who served” — a military retirement enclave with amenities few others offered at the time. It would be gated, secure and neatly maintained; with reasonably priced housing and in-house recreational amenities; located close to healthcare, shopping and entertainment. The community was to be called Indian River Colony Club, aka “The Place Patriots Call Home.”
At first glance, the 453 acres that Briggs selected for his ambitious dream project “consisted of little more than swamp land, muddy trails, grazing cattle and lots of mosquitoes,” as IRCC’s official history booklet notes. But Briggs could see past all that to envision the vast potential awaiting the first community in the Viera area.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, IRCC now boasts 781 individually owned two-to four-bedroom single family houses. These are home to more than 1,300 residents so happy with their choice of retirement communities that they have successfully encouraged extended family members to purchase their own piece of retirement heaven there. Sisters, brothers, cousins, parents and offspring are among the takers. Though more than 30 members have family living in nearby homes, the 55+ community remains predominantly military. IRCC strives to maintain a ratio of 80 percent military to 20 percent civilian.
“Many families have second-generation military service, and we see the love they have for IRCC,” 2025 Board Chair Pete Todsen said. “The high majority of military neighbors attracts us for all the same reasons.”
LASTING LEGACY
Some homes are passed down from military family to military family. Lucy and Ken Schor moved to IRCC in December of 2020 after Ken spent 27 years on active duty as a U.S. Navy physician. The couple inherited the home from Lucy’s parents.
“They became IRCC resident members in 1989 and called it paradise,” Ken Schor said. “Having visited them over their 30+ years at IRCC, we knew what it offered in terms of services, amenities, activities and neighborliness. It was an easy decision.”
The couple play tennis, croquet and golf, which they have time to enjoy: IRCC’s extensive maintenance frees them from many honey-do projects. They treasure the friendship of neighbors, whom they consider exemplary human beings.
“Fellow members are heroes by any definition, yet remain genuine and humble,” Schor added.
The community is a Florida nonprofit corporation, governed by a board elected from community members and supported by a professional management team. Current board chair Colleen Ward and her husband, Tom, gravitated to IRCC from Melbourne Beach, where they had resided for more than 20 years. “From the first day we rode through the streets, we immediately felt this was the place we wanted to be,” Ward said.
The bells and whistles drew the Wards to IRCC, but the neighbors sealed the deal. “We treat each other like family, not just acquaintances,” Ward said. “All members, as well as our employees, are focused on meeting each other’s needs before their own. That’s my kind of place.”
Tom retired as a U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel after 21 years of active duty. He was awarded multiple medals during his time in Vietnam, including two Bronze Stars with Combat V and the Silver Star: the third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. These days, the only warfare in which he engages is with the equipment in the fitness center and with his bicycle during rides with the community’s cycling group.
The list of clubs includes everything from tai chi to rifle and pistol. The 3,000-square-foot heated pool offers aquacise classes. The military balls at the At Ease Club, IRCC’s 25,000-square-foot private country club, are epic. With its coastal vibes, the facility’s grand dining room is busy with Sunday brunches, seafood buffets and other dinner functions.
During February, IRCC celebrated its 40th anniversary with three days of special events, including a walk, a golf tournament, cocktail reception and a talent show. At the Party Like It’s 1986 event, residents enjoyed a buffet of foods popular that year and danced to music of the era.
Sheriff Wayne Ivey’s Mounted Posse rode through the neighborhood — stopping at the intersection of Democracy and Independence avenues, as two IRCC streets are called — so residents could feed the horses a carrot or two and pose for pictures. The celebration culminated with the Red, White and Blue Ball, a black-tie, surf-and-turf gala. A festivity is never far off at IRCC.
LINKS
Then there’s the golf.
IRCC resident and retired Air Force pilot Dick Brien plays a round at the community’s golf course at least five days a week. On Mondays, he plays two rounds and a round-and-a-half on Fridays. The 18-hole golf course, with a member-to-hole ratio that ensures little wait for tee times, sold Brien on IRCC. Meandering among the community’s single family homes and its many ponds and natural preserves, the course offers an opportunity to enjoy wildlife sightings at holes that each have their own personalities.
“You never get bored with this course,” Brien said.
Like the Schors, Brien has a family connection to IRCC. His brother, Jerry, a former Marine, moved to IRCC more than a decade ago. Visiting Jerry, Dick fell in love with IRCC. The brothers now live a minute away — by golf cart, of course.
They may be retired military, but the residents of IRCC never abandon the ethos of serving. Philanthropy and community service bloom among the pristinely manicured homes. Through the IRCC Foundation and a host of other volunteer efforts, residents share their time, talent and treasure with the world outside their gates. And they never hesitate to help their neighbors.
“Everybody here would do anything to help fellow residents,” Brien said. “Good old-fashioned neighborliness is the norm.”
The community’s maintenance program has large on-site staff, on duty 10 hours a day, during the work week. They handle air conditioning and appliance maintenance, painting, roof repairs, etc. After hours, they can be contracted to help with small projects.
“What really makes IRCC different from other private communities is our maintenance program,” said general manager John Robinson. “It’s not just the number of services we provide; it’s knowing the technicians who come to your home. It provides a huge comfort and trust factor.”
Beyond the security, comfort and amenities, IRCC shines because of the people who have chosen to live there. “There is no other place like IRCC,” Schor said. “Rank and station are left outside the front gate; patriotism is genuine; true community is achieved; and helping others is the norm.”
