On Taylor Morrison's own website, Esplanade Lake Club now has a gray banner that reads "Closed | Sold Out Community." The page still describes Lake Como, the floating pier and the community dock. It also gives a phone number for "additional opportunities in the area." Those opportunities are farther east on Corkscrew Road. Taylor Morrison scheduled the grand opening for Esplanade at Kingston for October 17, with model tours and wine tasting on the program.
That shifts the math for anyone weighing a Lake Club home this fall. The builder no longer sets prices inside the gates, so every Lake Club sale is a resale. The new construction that competes with those resales now carries the same Esplanade brand, and it sits inside a 7,600-acre development a few exits' worth of driving away. To compare them fairly, look at what each side can document today.
The bill a Lake Club buyer can look up before making an offer
The Esplanade Lake Club Community Development District publishes its budget. The adopted Fiscal Year 2027 budget lists the annual debt-service assessment on the Series 2019 A-1 bonds by product type and lot width.
Product type | Units | FY2026 debt service | FY2027 debt service |
|---|---|---|---|
MF 30'–39' | 104 | $434.90 | $434.90 |
Single Family 30'–39' TV | 186 | $1,031.41 | $1,031.41 |
Single Family 50'–59' | 182 | $1,411.80 | $1,411.80 |
Single Family 60'–69' | 149 | $1,633.75 | $1,633.75 |
Single Family 70'–79' | 83 | $1,870.97 | $1,870.97 |
Single Family 80' and up | 11 | $1,956.01 | $1,956.01 |
The debt-service line did not change from FY2026 to FY2027. The general-fund operations assessment went from $1,306.58 to $1,365.05. The budget lists a cap rate of $1,370.49, adopted in FY2024, which leaves about $5.44 between this year's rate and the cap. The same page explains part of the revenue squeeze. The count of units subject to assessment fell from 819 to 809, and the budget notes a "correction in units subject to assessment."
Taken together, a Lake Club buyer can know two things before signing. The debt line is fixed by product type, and the operations line is already close to its stated ceiling. On the Kingston side, Taylor Morrison's offers page says only that "Community Association or other fees may be required." A buyer comparing the two should ask for Kingston's HOA and any district assessments in writing before treating the two prices as equal.
What Kingston is selling, and where the builder's floor sits
Esplanade at Kingston is a new gated neighborhood. Kingston's developer puts it at about 1,285 homes across condos, villas and single-family plans. On Taylor Morrison's floor-plan page, plans start at $369,900 for the 1,329-square-foot Tobago in the Garden Villa Collection and go up to $870,900 for the 4,591-square-foot Ravenna. The Fontanna starts at $399,900 with 1,580 square feet, and the Monte starts at $499,900 with 1,843 square feet. Kingston's own builder page describes Esplanade as starting in the "$400s," so the two pages differ on the entry price. Two-bedroom condos with 1,455 square feet are advertised from the mid-$300s, with the condo opening expected in late 2026.
The price cuts on homes the builder already has in inventory say more about the market than the base prices do. As of mid-October, Taylor Morrison's available-homes page shows a Fontanna cut $50,000, from $526,865 to $476,865, and a Monte cut $75,000, from $716,165 to $641,165. Both listings show the homes as ready in November–December 2026. These apply to individual homes, not the whole community. Even so, they show where the builder will go on near-complete inventory it wants to close.
The region-wide incentives work differently. Taylor Morrison's Fort Myers/Naples offers page advertises up to $100,000 off select quick move-in homes that close by November 30, 2026. The fine print excludes this community:
"Not applicable at Esplanade Kingston community."
The same page advertises two more offers on select homes. One is a 5.49% fixed rate, 5.60% APR, through Taylor Morrison Home Funding on contracts dated October 1 through October 31, 2026, with closing by November 13. The other is up to $60,000 in flex cash on contracts in the same window. Neither offer lists Kingston as eligible, and both end within days of this post. Ask the builder directly which incentives, if any, apply to a specific Kingston home.
That matters for anyone pricing a Lake Club resale. A buyer touring both neighborhoods will see the Kingston list price, the cut on a nearby inventory home and any financing offer attached to it. A Lake Club seller who prices from the neighborhood's own recent history, without accounting for the builder's current floor a few miles east, is pricing against the wrong comparable.
For broader context, Florida Realtors' August 2026 report for the Cape Coral–Fort Myers metro area shows 1,218 single-family closings at a $380,000 median, up 2.7% from August 2025. That is a county-level number, not an Esplanade number. It describes a market that is gaining slowly, where a $75,000 builder cut is a lot of leverage.
What a sold-out community has that a new one is still building
Lake Club's case starts with amenities that are already open. Taylor Morrison lists a resort-style pool, Bahama Bar, Toasted Café, Bark Park, tennis and pickleball courts, a fitness center, fire-side seating, and a boat ramp and kayak launch. Kingston's list is longer: a wellness center with spa, a culinary center with Dodici1951, an indoor pickleball facility with eight courts, cabanas and an event lawn. Taylor Morrison calls every item on that list "planned."
The water at Lake Club is also maintained under a district contract. The CDD's August 2026 asset report records treatment in the Venetian Lagoon Ditch on August 4 and the installation of about 20,000 littoral plants across seven lakes. The district is going through ordinary administrative changes. According to the July 9, 2026 minutes, PFM managers were introduced, with PFM expected to take over district management, and board meetings were set to move to the clubhouse starting in October. For a buyer, that means the district's public meetings are planned for a room inside the gates.
Kingston is at the beginning of a much longer build-out. Cameratta Companies plans up to 10,000 homes and about 700,000 square feet of commercial space there. The groundbreaking was November 13, 2025. In its August 2026 update, Cameratta said WMG Development is partnering on planned shopping, dining and services at the Kingston South main entrance. Engage Estero's Winter 2026 development summary on Estero Today reports that a traffic signal at Corkscrew Road and Spine Road is under construction. It projects a State Road 82 signal for winter 2027/2028. The nearest finished grocery anchor on that stretch is the Publix at The Shoppes at Verdana Village, which opened in 2024. The News-Press and Gulfshore Business have both covered the project's scale.
Location adds one more difference. Taylor Morrison describes Lake Club as just east of I-75. Its directions page puts Kingston about 13 miles east of I-75 Exit 123 on Corkscrew Road. Kingston's own news post says about 10 miles. Either way, the drive is part of the comparison.
A Lake Club resale is priced on what already exists: open amenities, maintained lakes, a set debt schedule and a short trip to the interstate. A Kingston home is priced on a new build plus the builder's discounts, with the amenity package, retail and road connections still on a timeline.
Questions to settle before choosing between the two Esplanades
- For a Lake Club home: which product type and lot width does the parcel fall under on the CDD's debt-service schedule, and what is the current general-fund assessment on the tax bill?
- For a Kingston home: what are the HOA dues and any district assessments, confirmed in writing by the builder, for that specific lot?
- For any Kingston home under contract: is it a quick move-in home with a home-specific reduction, and which of the October incentives does Taylor Morrison confirm apply, if any?
- For amenities: what completion dates, if any, does the builder give for Kingston's wellness center, culinary center and indoor pickleball facility?
- For a Lake Club seller: how does the asking price compare with the current Kingston list price and builder cut on a plan of similar size, as of the week you list?
The CDD and HOA figures above are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the assessments and terms for any specific property with the district, the builder, your lender or the right professional.
If you're weighing a Lake Club resale against a new Esplanade at Kingston home, or pricing a Lake Club home against the builder's current floor, Casey Lyons can lay the two side by side for you, with the assessments included. Schedule a Free Consultation.
