Esplanade at Starling in Punta Gorda is a gated Taylor Morrison community with 774 homesites planned. See 48 recorded sales in 12 months, the Starling CDD fee stack, flood zone and drive times. Sell or buy with McGreevy and Comisar.
Updated October 2026 · Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, Domain Realty
McGreevy and Comisar are the team Esplanade at Starling sellers call first, and the team buyers call when they want the Starling district's first-year assessment, the association estimate, the flood map and the county's recorded sales explained before they sign a builder contract. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar lead the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012, have been among the Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, and carry over $900 million in Sales. If you are weighing the best real estate agents in Punta Gorda, the test in a single-builder community this young is simple: ask who prices a home on the county's recorded deeds, and who has read the district's budget line by line.
Esplanade at Starling is a gated Taylor Morrison community in Punta Gorda, Florida, and Taylor Morrison's name for the single-family subdivision Charlotte County records as Starling (Charlotte County GIS, Subdivisions layer). It is in unincorporated Charlotte County with a Punta Gorda mailing address (ZIP 33955), and the appraiser's record reads "In City of Punta Gorda: NO" (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, parcel record). It sits on the east side of Burnt Store Road, south of Turnleaf and north of Zemel Road (Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter). Where most of the city's established neighborhoods are resale markets, Esplanade at Starling is a builder market: Taylor Morrison is the only builder, and every home on its county roll was built in 2025.
Three facts decide value here, and most listing pages blur at least one of them. First, the county's January 2025 approval plans Esplanade at Starling as 774 single-family homesites in three phases, the zoning allows up to 1,440 homes, and 407 homesites sit on recorded plats today, so the plan, the zoning and the ground each describe a different slice of the community (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter; Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, PD-21-00010). Second, owning here means paying more than one layer: a community development district assessment that fiscal year 2027 bills to homesites for the first time, by lot class; one association whose adopted budget was not available to us; and county taxes and service fees. Third, every lot sits in FEMA flood zone D on the current map, while the community next door had its map revised in 2026, so a buyer has to read the map for Starling, not for the corridor. The sections below take each in turn.
This guide is built from the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's public roll and sales files, the county's 2021 planned development ordinance, its plat, site plan and amenity decision letters, the Starling Community Development District's ordinance, budgets, agendas, assessment methodology and bond disclosure, the Florida Division of Corporations record for the association, FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer, the county's evacuation zone layer and the Charlotte County Public Schools Boundary Locator. Every figure carries its source and date. Where a record is not public or was not available to us, we say so rather than estimate. The city-wide picture, including our guides to selling a home in Punta Gorda and buying a home in Punta Gorda, uses the same method.
McGreevy and Comisar price Esplanade at Starling homes on the records that move them: 48 Charlotte County recorded sales in the latest 12 months at a $540,850 median, the Starling district's assessment class for the lot, the flood zone on FEMA's current map and Taylor Morrison's new homes nearby. The team has been #1 in Southwest Florida since 2012.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026; recorded sales through the county file dated September 27, 2026, newest qualified home sale September 4, 2026).
If you're searching for the best realtor for Esplanade at Starling, whether you're ready to sell your Esplanade at Starling home or buy your next one, McGreevy and Comisar is the team that delivers. We lead Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012, Top 1% Nationally since 2008, with over $2.5 billion sold as a team and over $900 million in Sales between Jesse and Marc. As the leaders of Domain Realty Group our team has closed over $2.5 billion in real estate, and every Esplanade at Starling valuation we write starts from Charlotte County's recorded sales, not a portal estimate or a builder's advertised price.
Recent Esplanade at Starling track record, from the county record. In the last 12 months we tracked 48 recorded qualified sales of improved properties in Esplanade at Starling in the Charlotte County Property Appraiser's public sales files (sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026), at a median of $540,850 and a range of $305,000 to $1,014,800. The highest recorded sale was $1,014,800 on Brent Lane on July 24, 2026. No Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet, so the 12-month record is first sales of new homes from the builder (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The calendar years are shown separately, each with its own count: 14 sales at a $595,300 median in 2025, and 38 sales at a $537,350 median from January 1 to September 26, 2026. Those windows overlap the 12-month window, so we never add them together or average them.
How we read a record this new. Forty-eight sales is a real sample for a community whose first recorded home sales came in 2025, but every one of them is a builder closing, so the file shows what Taylor Morrison's buyers paid, not yet what a resale buyer will pay. A thin resale record is the normal state of a first-generation community, and it is exactly where a valuation built on the county's deeds, the lot's district class and the builder's current homes earns its keep. We say what the record holds, and we say what it does not.
For luxury Esplanade at Starling sellers: premium marketing, including cinematic video, drone, professional photography, a qualified-buyer database, and discretion with off-market capability when a sale needs to stay quiet. On an Esplanade at Starling home that marketing starts with what the record shows: the lot's district assessment class, the flood zone on the current FEMA map, the association's governing documents and Taylor Morrison's current marketing on the next street, so a buyer comparing a resale with a new build sees exactly what the difference is worth.
Honors and recognition:
Selling your Esplanade at Starling home? Get a free home valuation at https://mcgreevyandcomisar.com/home-valuation, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072 (confidential conversations welcome for luxury listings). Read our Esplanade at Starling seller guide for how we price, prepare and market a Esplanade at Starling home.
Buying a home in Esplanade at Starling? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 for a personalized buyer consultation, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.
Esplanade at Starling is a gated, single-builder Taylor Morrison community in Punta Gorda with 774 homesites planned, 407 platted and 42 homes on the county roll, a community development district that first bills homesites in fiscal year 2027, an association estimate from a draft bond document, and a Zone D flood map. These eight points carry the page.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files and roll, our analysis; Starling CDD FY2027 adopted budget; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer; Taylor Morrison builder marketing seen October 2, 2026).
This Esplanade at Starling guide is organized so a seller or a buyer can jump straight to the record that answers the question: the county's recorded sales, the master plan and the Starling district, the fee stack, amenities, flood and insurance, schools and drive times, what is being built nearby, how Esplanade at Starling compares with Turnleaf and nearby communities, and the buyer and seller FAQs.
Living in Esplanade at Starling means buying into a gated, single-builder community on the Burnt Store Road corridor that is still being built out, with one association and a community development district behind it, an amenity center partly open, no golf course or marina of its own, and a 45,507 acre state park a few minutes away.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis; Charlotte County plat, site plan and amenity decision letters; estimated drive times computed October 2, 2026).
A buyer here is not choosing a finished neighborhood with a long history. The first Starling plat was recorded on August 2, 2024 (Plat Book 27, Page 15), a replat of most of it followed on April 11, 2025 (Plat Book 28, Page 4), and a small replat of nine lots at the model row on Dove Drive was recorded on February 4, 2026 (Plat Book 28, Page 19) (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter; Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter; Charlotte County, PFP-25-12 decision letter). A Phase 2 site plan is approved and a third phase is planned. That sequence is the first thing to understand about daily life, because a home on an early street and a home on a later street are bought at different points in the same plan.
Esplanade at Starling is a master-planned, gated community: one planned development, one association and one community development district covering every lot, with one national builder selling homes inside it. The county rezoned about 297 acres as a planned development under Ordinance 2021-036, adopted October 26, 2021, allowing up to 1,440 homes (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, PD-21-00010). The county's January 2025 approval plans the community as 774 single-family homesites in three phases (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter).
The names need one line of explanation. Esplanade at Starling is Taylor Morrison's name for the community the county records as Starling: the plat, the Starling Community Development District and Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. all carry the shorter name (Charlotte County GIS, Subdivisions layer). Taylor Morrison uses the Esplanade name on several Florida communities, and this guide covers only Esplanade at Starling on Burnt Store Road in Charlotte County.
Every homesite on the recorded plats is single-family detached. The zoning would also allow attached homes, but no attached product appears on any Starling plat or site plan (Charlotte County, PP-22-03-09 decision letter; Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter). A buyer looking for a villa, a townhome or a condominium is looking in the wrong community.
That is a plan, not a count of homes you can walk through today. The sections that follow keep the plan, the county roll and the sales record apart, because each answers a different question.
Esplanade at Starling sits on the east side of Burnt Store Road, south of Turnleaf and north of Zemel Road, in unincorporated Charlotte County. It is not inside the City of Punta Gorda, and it uses a Punta Gorda mailing address in ZIP 33955 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, parcel record). County government, not a city council, handles zoning, permits and road decisions here, and the community falls in County Commission District 2 (Charlotte County GIS, CCGISLayers).
The zoning allows one main entrance, from Burnt Store Road at Starling Boulevard, and an emergency-only access to the east that the district's engineer says will connect to Green Gulf Boulevard in the future (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, PD-21-00010; Starling CDD, May 1, 2024 agenda, Master Engineer's Report). Burnt Store Road in front of the community, from Zemel Road to Notre Dame Boulevard, is four lanes, with a 2026 average daily traffic count of 20,346 at level of service C, 53 percent of capacity (Charlotte County, 2026 Roadway Level of Service report).
The neighbors are other master plans with their own districts. Turnleaf, directly north, is a separate master plan with its own district, the Coral Creek CDD. Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club lies across Burnt Store Road, and our Heritage Landing guide covers it. Willow lies to the northeast, east of US 41, with its own district, the Tuckers Pointe CDD (Charlotte County GIS, Petitions layer). None of their amenities or fees cross into Esplanade at Starling, and none of Esplanade at Starling's cross into them.
The county roll lists 457 parcels across the Starling plats, of which 407 are platted homesites (our count) and 50 are tracts such as lakes, roads, open space, the amenity site and land held for future development. Of the 407 homesites, 42 carry a single-family home, all built in 2025: 16 on Victoria Place, 9 on Lark Court, 8 on Dove Drive, 7 on Dunlin Avenue and 2 on Robin Avenue. Those 42 homes range from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet of heated living area (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis).
Two cautions apply. The roll lags new construction, so a home finished this summer may still be coded as a lot, and we never read the uncoded homesites as vacant or available. And the 457 are not all homes: tracts are parcels too. The 42 built homes sit on the five streets of the original Phase 1 plat; the roll shows no built home yet on the streets of the 2025 replat, which are Arbor Circle, Blue Court, Argus Place, Adelie Way and Brent Lane. For a buyer, the practical meaning is that an Esplanade at Starling street can hold finished homes, homes being built and empty homesites at the same time. Before you commit to a lot, look at what sits on the parcels around it, and ask the builder for the schedule on the neighboring lots in writing.
Esplanade at Starling is delivered in plats, and the plats are not equivalent from a buyer's side of the table. The first plat was recorded in 2024 and replatted in 2025; after the replat the roll shows 407 platted homesites, matching the county's 407-lot Phase 1 (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter; Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter). The 2026 replat re-cut nine lots at the model row on Dove Drive, and the appraiser's roll still lists those nine under the 2025 replat.
A Phase 2 site plan of 131 single-family lots was approved in 2025, and no Phase 2 plat was recorded as of October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-224 decision letter). A third phase is planned. Until a plat is recorded, the lots in those phases are not on the roll as homesites at all, so the layout, the lot lines and the timing can still move.
For a buyer, a phase raises three questions. What is the district's assessment class for this lot, and does the Series 2025 debt apply to it or was it prepaid? What is being built on the streets that the lot touches, and on what schedule? And what does the recorded plat show around it: a lake tract, a road tract, open space, or more homesites? A resale buyer on a finished Victoria Place lot and a new-construction buyer on Arbor Circle are both buying in Esplanade at Starling, and they can be on different footing on all three questions.
Taylor Morrison is the only builder in Esplanade at Starling. No other builder appears on any county petition or on the roll, and Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc still owns most of the parcels on the September 27, 2026 roll (Charlotte County GIS, ownership layer). We do not link to builder pages from this guide.
Taylor Morrison sells three collections, named 42, 52 and 62, with 14 floor plans from 1,483 to 4,591 square feet, one and two stories, and 2 to 6 bedrooms (Taylor Morrison builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The district assesses homesites in three classes, 42-foot, 52-foot and 62-foot, and the class of any one lot comes from the district's assessment roll or an estoppel letter, not from the brochure (Starling CDD, Final Supplemental Methodology, November 5, 2025 agenda). Taylor Morrison's sales center and models are on Dove Drive, at 26601 Dove Drive (builder marketing).
A collection is a product line, not a neighborhood. Every collection sells inside the same gate, the same association and the same district, under the same planned development. One builder also means one set of contract terms, one warranty program and one design studio across the community, which simplifies comparison and narrows choice at the same time. A buyer who wants to compare builders side by side has to look at a neighboring community, and Turnleaf, directly north, has four.
Yes. Esplanade at Starling is gated (builder marketing), and the county's site plan conditions for the amenity center require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter). The internal roads are private and belong to the association; the district finances stormwater, water and sewer lines, not the roads (Starling CDD, May 1, 2024 agenda, Master Engineer's Report).
That ownership matters to a buyer's budget. A private road behind a gate is maintained by the association, so its upkeep sits in association dues rather than in county road funding. Gate staffing, hours and guest procedures are set by the association's rules, which were not available to us: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
No golf course, marina or boat ramp is inside Esplanade at Starling, and its lakes are stormwater lakes that the district will own and maintain (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, PD-21-00010; Starling CDD, May 1, 2024 agenda, Master Engineer's Report). Rules on the use of the lakes were not available to us. The nearest golf is Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club across Burnt Store Road. The nearest full-service marina is Safe Harbor Burnt Store, in Lee County with a Punta Gorda address, about 7 road miles south (Safe Harbor Marinas, Safe Harbor Burnt Store), at the Burnt Store Marina community.
It is a lifestyle community, not a club community. No separate club membership or club dues appear in any record we read; the district's records say the developer funds the amenities for conveyance to the association (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda). Taylor Morrison markets its Esplanade lifestyle programs here, including an on-site lifestyle manager (builder marketing). If golf or boating drives your search, Esplanade at Starling is a community you drive away from, not one that includes them.
The county approved the Starling Amenity Center on about 6.8 acres: "a clubhouse, Bahama bar, pool, tennis court, pickle ball courts, bocce ball courts, mail kiosk, community garden, large dog park, and small dog park," under a decision letter dated March 3, 2025 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter). That is the list we print as the approved program, because it is the list the county approved.
The status is moving. As of October 2, 2026, Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open, the resort-style pool as coming soon, the Bahama Bar as planned and The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027, with a lifestyle room, catering kitchen, fitness center, spa treatment room and outdoor terrace (builder marketing). We do not describe the pool, the bar or the clubhouse as open. The zoning also requires the clubhouse to be built to the county's highest wind loads and to serve as a post-storm refuge for residents, though not for all of them at once (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, PD-21-00010).
Ownership is still in the developer's hands. The developer is funding the amenities, and the district's records say they will be conveyed to the association; no deed has been recorded (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda). The district has the legal power to fund recreation and security, but its plan and budget do not include the amenity center (Starling CDD, Ordinance 2024-007). A buyer who wants to use the pool or the clubhouse should ask for the written opening status, the access rules and any fee before signing. The full amenities section sits further down this page.
Esplanade at Starling's strongest outdoor fact is its neighborhood of preserves. Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park covers 45,507 acres, and its Old Datsun Trail, 1.75 miles through hammock and pine flatwoods, starts at a trailhead at 12301 Burnt Store Road, about 2.3 miles and 6 minutes from the community's map pin (Florida State Parks, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park; Florida State Parks, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park brochure). The Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center at Alligator Creek, 10941 Burnt Store Road, keeps its trails open dawn to dusk and is about 8 minutes from the map pin (Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, About).
To the east, the Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area covers "over 80,700 acres," and its Tucker Grade entrance is about 15 minutes from the map pin (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Babcock/Webb WMA history). Distances in this section were computed with OSRM free-flow routing from the builder's community map pin on October 2, 2026, and they are estimates without traffic (OSRM open routing engine).
Esplanade at Starling is a drive to nearly everything, but a shorter one than its Burnt Store Road address suggests. Estimated drive times from 26000 Starling Boulevard, the county address point at the Burnt Store Road end, are 13 minutes to Punta Gorda Airport, 14 minutes to downtown Punta Gorda (City Hall), 23 minutes to HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital and AdventHealth Port Charlotte, and 29 minutes to Cape Coral City Hall. Fort Myers City Hall is 31 minutes, Southwest Florida International Airport 47 minutes and Sarasota City Hall 74 minutes (OSRM open routing engine).
The Gulf beaches are a longer trip. Englewood Beach at Chadwick Park, the nearest Gulf beach, measures about 55 minutes (33.9 road miles), and Fort Myers Beach about 57 minutes. Port Charlotte Beach Park, at 26 minutes, is a harbor beach, not a Gulf beach, and we label it that way. We do not use builder copy for beach or airport distances, because the measured times are the ones a buyer will actually drive.
For highway access, I-75 at Jones Loop Road (exit 161) is about 7.8 road miles (13 minutes), and Burnt Store Road meets US 41 about 4.7 road miles (7 minutes) north. Method: estimated drive times from 26000 Starling Boulevard (county address point at the Burnt Store Road end), OSRM free-flow routing, no traffic (our analysis, October 2, 2026). From homes on Victoria Place, add about 2 to 3 minutes. Add time for traffic and signals, especially from January to April. The full table sits in the drive-time section of this guide.
Errands run north. The nearest full grocery is the Publix at Burnt Store Marketplace, 3941 Tamiami Trail, about 11 minutes from the community's map pin (Publix, Burnt Store Marketplace). We found no grocery store on Burnt Store Road between Esplanade at Starling and US 41.
The county's planning puts a neighborhood center some way off. The county's Burnt Store Area Plan projects that by 2045 the corridor's population will support a neighborhood shopping center (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan presentation, June 11, 2024). Directly south, a planned development of up to 999 homes and 195,000 square feet of commercial space won a 3-0 recommendation from the county's Planning and Zoning Board on April 13, 2026; a County Commission decision was not found in the record as of October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board agenda, April 13, 2026). A recommendation is not a store, and a buyer should not price a home on the assumption that retail will open at the gate.
Esplanade at Starling is not marketed as a 55+ community: Taylor Morrison's listing data marks its homes as not age-restricted, and the district's 2025 draft bond document describes it as active-lifestyle and age-targeted (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda). No recorded age restriction was found; the Declaration controls.
The recorded Declaration for Starling was not available to us; it controls rentals, pets, vehicles, age rules and resale, so we print no rule and no limit. A dog park is an amenity, not a pet rule. One association, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., was filed in June 2024 and is active on the state record as of October 2, 2026; no sub-association or master association was found (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.). The association's officers on the state record also sit on the district board, whose members are Taylor Morrison employees; no turnover date was found (Starling CDD, May 1, 2024 minutes).
A buyer who plans to rent a home, keep more than one pet, park a work truck or store a boat should get the recorded Declaration and the association's rules from the builder or the association before making an offer. The document is recorded in the Charlotte County Official Records, and a purchase contract with a community association disclosure is the moment to ask for it.
Four things shape the weekly routine, and each has its own section below. For schools, the district's Boundary Locator assigned all six Starling addresses we checked, on six streets, to East Elementary, Punta Gorda Middle and Charlotte High on October 2, 2026, and the state's 2026 grades for those schools are B, A and B (Charlotte County Public Schools, Boundary Locator; Florida Department of Education, 2026 School Grades Results Packet). That is a sample of addresses, not a boundary map, so you check your own.
For flood, every lot on the Starling plats is in FEMA flood zone D on the current map, panel 12015C0409G, effective December 15, 2022; Zone D is not a Special Flood Hazard Area on that map, and the map gives no Base Flood Elevation (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer). For storms, county evacuation zones split Esplanade at Starling: of 457 parcels, 239 are in Zone D and 218 in Zone C, and all 42 built homes are in Zone D; most of Arbor Circle and all of Adelie Way are Zone C (Charlotte County GIS, evacuation zones). For emergency response, Starling is in the response zone of Charlotte County Fire Rescue Station 5, 15200 Burnt Store Road, and Station 17 at 11711 Tamiami Trail has a forecast completion of March 2027 (Charlotte County GIS, fire response zones layer; Charlotte County, Fire Station 17).
Water and sewer come from Charlotte County Utilities (Starling CDD, May 1, 2024 agenda, Master Engineer's Report), and Taylor Morrison markets the community as served by natural gas (builder marketing). For electric and internet providers: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Esplanade at Starling fits a buyer who wants a new single-family home inside a gate, from one national builder, with an amenity program approved by the county and partly open, and an association estimate that includes lawn maintenance. It also fits a buyer who values a state park trailhead about 6 minutes away and a drive of about 13 to 14 minutes to Punta Gorda Airport and downtown Punta Gorda, measured without traffic. And it suits a buyer who wants a range of house sizes inside one community: the roll shows built homes from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet, and the 12-month recorded price range runs from $305,000 to $1,014,800.
It fits less well for a buyer whose search starts with golf, a marina, a private club or a Gulf beach within a short drive, since none is inside Esplanade at Starling and the measured Gulf beach drives are close to an hour. It fits less well for a buyer who wants several builders to compare, or attached or villa product, because neither exists here. And it fits less well for a buyer who must know the rental, pet or age rules, or the association's adopted budget, before looking at a single house, because the recorded Declaration and an adopted association budget were not available to us. That buyer can still buy here, but those documents should be in hand before the offer, not after.
We walk an Esplanade at Starling buyer through four documents before the kitchen. First, the Starling district assessment for the exact lot: the class (42, 52 or 62 foot) sets the figure, the budget publishes it by class, and an estoppel letter shows whether Taylor Morrison prepaid the Series 2025 debt on that home. Second, the recorded Declaration and the association's budget, because the dues published so far are a developer-furnished estimate and the rules are in the Declaration. Third, the flood file: the FEMA zone for that exact lot on panel 12015C0409G, any elevation certificate, and the evacuation zone for the address. Fourth, for a new build, the contract's closing costs, the builder's schedule for the neighboring lots and the written status of the pool and The Venue.
Those four answers move a decision more than the finishes do, and they are the answers a listing page rarely carries. Our guide to new construction in Punta Gorda covers how builder contracts and resales differ across the city.
Esplanade at Starling recorded 48 qualified sales of improved properties in Charlotte County's public files from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, at a $540,850 median and a range of $305,000 to $1,014,800. No Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet, so these are first sales of new homes from the builder (our analysis).
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026; Taylor Morrison builder marketing seen October 2, 2026).
Window | Recorded sales | Median |
|---|---|---|
September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 (12 months) | 48 | $540,850 |
Calendar year 2025 | 14 | $595,300 |
January 1 to September 26, 2026 | 38 | $537,350 |
Source: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis. The file counts DOR-qualified sales of improved properties over $1,000. Recorded sales run through the county file dated September 27, 2026; the newest qualified home sale in it is dated September 4, 2026, so the most recent weeks are not yet in it (Charlotte County Property Appraiser).
Each row is its own window with its own count. The 12-month window spans parts of both calendar years: 10 of the 14 sales in calendar 2025 fall inside it and 4 fall before it, so the 48 overlap the 14 and the 38, and we do not add, average or subtract them. The 48 is an even count, so the $540,850 median is the midpoint of the two middle sales, $538,700 and $543,000, and not the price of any one home. The gap between a $595,300 median on 14 sales in 2025 and a $537,350 median on 38 sales in 2026 is a comparison of two windows of very different size, and we would not read it as a trend in home values.
Price band | Recorded sales, 12 months | Share of 48 |
|---|---|---|
$300,000 to $399,999 | 13 | 27 percent |
$400,000 to $499,999 | 3 | 6 percent |
$500,000 to $599,999 | 13 | 27 percent |
$600,000 to $799,999 (a $200,000-wide band) | 15 | 31 percent |
$800,000 to $999,999 | 2 | 4 percent |
$1,000,000 and up | 2 | 4 percent |
Total | 48 | 100 percent |
Source: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, recorded sales September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026. Shares are rounded, so they do not sum exactly. The $600,000 band is twice as wide as its neighbors, so read its count with that in mind.
The market has two clusters and a thin middle. Thirteen of the 48 sales, about one in four, closed between $300,000 and $399,999. Only three closed between $400,000 and $499,999. Then 28 of the 48, about 58 percent, closed between $500,000 and $799,999, and four closed at $800,000 or more. No sale in the window closed under $300,000.
That shape is the product mix showing through. The roll's built homes run from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet, and the smallest homes cluster on Lark Court and Robin Avenue, where the lowest recorded prices are (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis). A buyer at $375,000 and a buyer at $650,000 can both be shopping in Esplanade at Starling without shopping the same home, and they should not read one median as the price of both.
Sale period | Recorded sales |
|---|---|
September 27 to December 31, 2025 | 10 |
January 1 to March 31, 2026 | 16 |
April 1 to June 30, 2026 | 10 |
July 1 to September 26, 2026 | 12 |
Total, 12 months | 48 |
Source: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, recorded sales September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, counted by the sale date in the county file.
The first quarter of 2026 carried the most recorded sales, with 16 of the 48. The summer quarter is not short: 12 sales closed from July 1 to September 4, 2026, the newest date in the file, and recording lags closing, so late September is barely in it. We do not read the rise or fall between quarters as a change in demand. A single-builder community records sales when the builder closes homes, in batches that follow construction schedules rather than buyer interest in a given month.
All but four of the 48 sales were on lots of the original 2024 Phase 1 plat, on the streets where the 42 built homes stand; the other four were on lots of the 2025 replat, on Argus Place, Brent Lane and Arbor Circle (our analysis). That is the build-out sequence showing up in the deeds: the builder finished the Phase 1 streets first, and the replat streets are where the newest closings are starting.
The highest recorded prices are on Brent Lane, Dove Drive and Victoria Place; the lowest on Lark Court and Robin Avenue (our analysis). We do not publish a median for any one street, because the street samples are small and a street median would be read as a price for every home on it. A buyer weighing two streets should compare the recorded sales of similar homes on each, sale by sale.
Of the 48 recorded sales, 36 carry a year built of 2025 on the roll. The other 12 closed before the roll recorded a building on the lot. We print no size for those 12 and draw no other conclusion from them: they are qualified improved sales in the county file, not land sales, and the roll simply had not caught up when the file was cut.
Across the community, the roll shows 42 single-family homes, all built in 2025, from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet of heated living area (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis). We do not set the 42 against the 48 sales, because the roll counts parcels at one date and the sales file counts transfers over a window, and a home can sell before the roll shows it built.
No Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet, so the 12-month record is first sales of new homes from the builder (our analysis). That matters to both sides of a transaction. For a buyer, every recorded price in the file is a builder's closed price, set in a Taylor Morrison contract with that builder's options, lot premiums and incentives. For a seller, there is not yet a resale record in Esplanade at Starling to price against, so the first resales will be priced against the builder's current homes and the recorded first sales.
It does not mean resales will not happen; it means none has been recorded as a qualified sale yet. When the first resales record, we will separate them from builder closings in this section, because the two are different markets inside the same gate.
The highest recorded sale in the 12-month window was $1,014,800 on Brent Lane on July 24, 2026. The two sales at $1,000,000 and up were on Brent Lane and Dove Drive, and the roll carries no size for either home yet, so we print none. We name the street and no house number.
A single recorded high is a data point, not a price range for the community, which is why we price each home against its own comparable sales and not against the top of the file. At the other end, the lowest recorded price in the window was $305,000, on Lark Court. We make no claim about what drove either end of the range beyond what the record shows.
Taylor Morrison sells in three collections, and the district assesses in three matching lot classes, but no county sales field records which collection or class a home belongs to. We therefore do not publish sales or medians by collection. A recorded sale tells us the street, the date and the price; the collection and the district class for a specific home come from the builder's contract and the district's assessment roll.
What we can say is where the builder's advertised starting prices sit, and we keep those in their own table below, apart from the county's recorded prices, so the two are never read as one number.
Collection | Plan | Advertised from | Bedrooms | Square feet | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42 | Alta | $313,999 | 2 | 1,483 | 1 |
42 | Rivera | $343,999 | 2 | 1,677 | 1 |
42 | Vento | $353,999 | 3 | 1,709 | 1 |
52 | Monte | $377,999 | 2 | 1,843 | 1 |
52 | Marino | $407,999 | 3 | 2,085 | 1 |
52 | Lavello | $434,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,306 | 1 |
52 | Florence | $505,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,628 | 2 |
52 | Genoa | $532,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,903 | 2 |
62 | Cresta | $457,999 | 3 | 2,475 | 1 |
62 | Cascata | $477,999 | 3 | 2,573 | 1 |
62 | Palermo | $514,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,833 | 1 |
62 | Colina | $541,999 | 3 | 2,861 | 1 |
62 | Argenta | $606,999 | 4 | 3,745 | 2 |
62 | Ravenna | $626,999 | 5 to 6 | 4,591 | 2 |
Source: Taylor Morrison, Esplanade at Starling community page, builder marketing seen October 2, 2026. We do not link to builder pages.
These are advertised base prices from the builder's own page. They are not recorded sales and not a floor or ceiling for the community, and a builder's base price on a given day is a different number from what a deed records once a lot, options and upgrades are added. We show them so a buyer can see what the builder advertises, and we do not read them against the county's price bands above. A buyer comparing a new home to a resale should compare recorded sales to recorded sales, and the builder's contract price, upgrades, lot premium and closing costs to the resale's total cost.
Measure | Esplanade at Starling |
|---|---|
Median days on market | Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). |
Median sale-to-list ratio | Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). |
These are the two measures only the MLS carries, and neither is available for Esplanade at Starling at the time of publishing. We lead with the county record for counts and prices because it is the public record of deeds, and we do not substitute a figure from another community. In a market of builder first sales these measures would also read differently from a resale market, since a builder's list and close prices follow its own contract terms. Our guide to Burnt Store Village shows the format these measures take when they are available.
The windows differ, so we state each one. Our Turnleaf guide reports 79 recorded sales from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 at a $350,000 median (McGreevy and Comisar, Turnleaf). Our Burnt Store Village guide reports 77 recorded sales in the same window at a $325,000 median (McGreevy and Comisar, Burnt Store Village). Our Willow guide reports 93 recorded sales in the same window, with no 12-month median stated and a calendar 2025 median of $330,000 on 86 sales (McGreevy and Comisar, Willow). Our Heritage Landing guide reports 138 recorded sales from September 5, 2025 to August 31, 2026 at a $352,500 median (McGreevy and Comisar, Heritage Landing).
Esplanade at Starling's 12-month window matches the Turnleaf, Burnt Store Village and Willow windows. Of the communities that state a 12-month median for that window, Esplanade at Starling's $540,850 on 48 sales is the highest, on fewer sales than its neighbors. Heritage Landing's window is different, so we do not rank it on the same line, and we never subtract one community's median from another's. The full comparison table, including Babcock Ranch, sits in the comparison section below.
An Esplanade at Starling seller is not selling into a quiet, built-out market. The county file shows 48 recorded first sales in 12 months, Taylor Morrison advertises its own new homes on nearby streets, and a Phase 2 site plan is approved behind them, so a buyer has more than one way to buy a new home inside the same gate. The builder is the competition, and that is the context for pricing. It is why we start an Esplanade at Starling valuation from the recorded sales for homes like yours, not from a builder's base price or a portal estimate.
Three habits keep a price honest. Compare your home with recorded sales of a similar plan size on similar streets, and keep the windows stated. Treat the builder's advertised price as marketing and not as a recorded sale, and remember that a resale offers what a new build cannot: a finished home, a landscaped lot and no construction wait. And present the cost of ownership next to the price: a buyer sees the district assessment and the association dues as part of what the home costs, so a seller who has the lot's district class, the estoppel letter showing whether the debt was prepaid, the tax bill and the association's estoppel information ready removes a source of doubt. Our guide to selling a home in Punta Gorda walks through that process.
The county roll is the file that records a home's year built, and it lags new construction. A sale recorded on a parcel that still shows no year built may be a finished home that the roll has not caught up with, and the roll does not say which. That is why 12 of the 48 sales carry no year built, and why we print no size for them.
It also explains why the 42 homes on the roll and the 48 sales are not set against each other, and why the homesites the roll still codes as vacant are not a count of lots for sale. The roll counts parcels at one date, and the sales file counts transfers over a window. A reader who divides one by the other will get a number that means nothing, and we would rather print the counts side by side and label each.
We can measure some of what separates one Esplanade at Starling sale from another, and we cannot measure the rest. The district's class for the lot (42, 52 or 62 foot) is a published, per-home figure that follows the property, and whether the Series 2025 debt was prepaid at the first closing changes what a second owner pays each year. The street and its place in the build-out shape what is nearby and when it will be finished. The evacuation zone for the address, C or D, changes the storm conversation lot by lot. The size of the home matters, and the roll shows built homes from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet. Lake frontage matters to many buyers too: many homesites back onto stormwater lakes, and the builder's homesite map, not the county flag, shows which. Finish level, options and builder incentives are not recorded by any county field, so we read them from the contract and the property, not from the roll.
We do not claim a cause for any price in the file. We report the bands and the counts, and we price a given home against its own comparable sales.
A buyer should read the sale price next to what the home costs to own. For fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027) the district's adopted budget lists $1,051.83 a year for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for 52-foot and $1,499.52 for 62-foot, of which $111.70 is operations and the rest is Series 2025 debt service (Starling CDD, FY2027 budget). The district's mailed July 2026 notice states operations at $118.83 per home including collection costs and early payment discounts; the budget figures are after those adjustments (Starling CDD, August 5, 2026 agenda). Fiscal year 2027 is the first year the district levies assessments on homesites; earlier years were funded by the landowner.
Three details decide what a specific home carries. The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the operations assessment; only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home (Starling CDD, Final Supplemental Methodology, November 5, 2025 agenda). The 2027 budget expects to bill the assessment directly, and the district's notice says some developed homes may see it on the county tax bill instead, so check the tax bill and ask the district manager, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates (Starling CDD, About). And the district's one bond issue, $12,530,000 of Series 2025 bonds, closed in November 2025 and is repaid through May 1, 2056 (Starling CDD, January 7, 2026 agenda); a payoff amount for a specific home comes from the district manager.
The county layers sit on top. The 2025 millage for tax district 121 was 15.0855 mills, and the 2026 proposed rate is 15.4046 mills, with the final 2026 rate not posted at the time of publishing (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 Final Rate Chart; Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2026 Proposed Rates). The county's MSBU records for a Starling home show Fire Rescue $294.90 and solid waste $335.51 per home, and South Charlotte Stormwater $26.75 per acre (MSBU year 2027) (Charlotte County MSBU property records). The association estimate of $4,459 to $4,699 a year, including lawn maintenance, comes from the district's 2025 draft bond offering document and is subject to change; the adopted association budget was not available to us. The fee-stack section below lays out every layer, including the ones that are unpublished.
Esplanade at Starling has 774 homesites planned, one builder selling and a Starling district assessment that follows every lot by class, from $1,051.83 to $1,499.52 in fiscal year 2027, so the right first step for a buyer is a conversation about the lot, the class and the documents before a builder contract. McGreevy and Comisar have been Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008, and in the last 12 months we tracked every one of the 48 recorded Esplanade at Starling sales in the county file. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873 for a personalized buyer consultation, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida. Sellers can get a free home valuation built on the county's recorded sales and the lot's district class, or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
Esplanade at Starling began as Harborside, a 2006 planned development on Burnt Store Road that was never built. Burnt Store 2007 LLC won a larger rezoning in 2021, Taylor Morrison bought the land, the county created the Starling district in 2024, and the first plat recorded that August. The first recorded home sales followed in 2025.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County ordinances, petition files and decision letters for Z-06-06-40-TDU, PD-21-00010, PP-22-03-09, FP-22-03-09, CDD-24-01, DRC-24-171, PFP-24-05 and PFP-25-12; Charlotte County GIS subdivision and ownership layers; Starling Community Development District records; Florida Division of Corporations; Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll and sales files, our analysis, sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026).
Esplanade at Starling is Taylor Morrison's name for the gated community the county records as Starling (Charlotte County GIS, SubDivisions layer; Taylor Morrison, Esplanade at Starling community page, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The marketing name is the one on the sales center sign and the brochures. The legal names are on everything else: the recorded plats are titled Starling, the special taxing district is the Starling Community Development District, and the association is Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. (Starling Community Development District, Ordinance No. 2024-007; Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.).
That split matters the first time you read a tax bill, a title commitment or a district budget. None of them will say Esplanade. If a document says Starling and sits in ZIP 33955 on Burnt Store Road, it is talking about this community. On this page we say Esplanade at Starling for the community and Starling when we quote a record.
Esplanade at Starling sits on the east side of Burnt Store Road, south of Turnleaf and north of Zemel Road (Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter). The county's plat letters describe the land as south of Turnleaf Boulevard (and, in the first plat letter, south of Notre Dame Boulevard), north of Zemel Road, east of Burnt Store Road and west of Green Gulf Boulevard (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter). The legal description places it in Sections 9 and 16, Township 42 South, Range 23 East (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010).
The address says Punta Gorda, but the land is not in the city. Esplanade at Starling is in unincorporated Charlotte County with a Punta Gorda mailing address (ZIP 33955), and the property appraiser's record for a built home reads "In City of Punta Gorda: NO" (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, parcel record 422316200057). Zoning, permits and platting all run through Charlotte County. For the wider city and its neighborhoods, start with our Punta Gorda guide.
The land was first zoned for a planned development in 2006 under the name Harborside, which was never built (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2006-082, petition Z-06-06-40-TDU; Charlotte County, DRC-PD-06-07pp Harborside decision letter). The County Commission heard that rezoning on September 19, 2006, changing the land from agricultural estates zoning to a planned development. Harborside's concept mixed single-family and multifamily homes, required private roads maintained first by the developer and then by an association, and depended on density transferred from other land.
Harborside was never built, and the land sat zoned but empty for fifteen years. What survives from that era is the planned development itself. Every later approval on this land is a modification of the 2006 zoning, not a fresh start, which is why the 2021 ordinance describes itself as a major modification (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010).
On October 26, 2021, the County Commission adopted Ordinance 2021-036, which rezoned about 297 acres to a planned development allowing up to 1,440 homes (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010). The applicant was Burnt Store 2007 LLC, then the owner of the land. The Planning and Zoning Board had recommended approval on September 13, 2021, and the ordinance was filed with the Florida Department of State the day after adoption.
The site was slightly smaller than in 2006 because land had been taken for the widening of Burnt Store Road. The ordinance allows a range of housing types (single-family detached or attached, twin villas, townhomes and multifamily), but that is an allowance, not a plan. Every homesite on the recorded Starling plats is single-family detached, and the zoning would also allow attached homes, but none appears on any Starling plat or site plan (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter; Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter).
A few weeks before the vote, the county's zoning official approved the concept plan, describing a "private amenity center" with the homes (Charlotte County, DRC-21-00059 decision letter). The review comments in that letter record a February 2021 listed-species survey that found potentially active gopher tortoise burrows and foraging wood storks, and a tree survey that qualified live oaks and laurel oaks as heritage trees. Those findings are why the zoning carries a Native Habitat Management Plan for the on-site wetlands and their upland buffers.
Taylor Morrison bought the land from the prior owner, Burnt Store 2007 LLC (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010; Charlotte County, CDD-24-01 petition and ordinance file). From 2022 on, Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc. is the applicant on every county petition for the land: the density transfer approved April 26, 2022 (Charlotte County, TDU-22-02 resolution), the preliminary plat, the final plats, the district and the amenity center. By the time it petitioned for the district in early 2024, Taylor Morrison stated that it owned all of the land.
Taylor Morrison is the only builder in Esplanade at Starling. On the September 27, 2026 county roll, Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc still owns most of the parcels on the Starling plats (Charlotte County GIS, Ownership layer; Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll files, our analysis). No other builder appears on any Starling petition or on the roll. Esplanade is Taylor Morrison's lifestyle brand, and the company uses it on other Florida communities; the sub-communities section below explains how to keep them apart.
The County Commission approved the preliminary plat, titled simply "Starling", on October 11, 2022 (Charlotte County, PP-22-03-09 decision letter). That was less than two weeks after Hurricane Ian made landfall near Punta Gorda, and it is one of the clearest dates in the record for buyers who ask about storm history: the subdivision was still on paper when Ian passed. The hurricane section of this page covers what that means.
The Phase 1 final detail site plan followed in a decision letter of May 22, 2023, with a County Commission decision scheduled for July 11, 2023 (Charlotte County, DRC-22-00193 decision letter). Among its conditions: gates must carry an emergency EVAC system, the same requirement that reappears in the amenity center approval.
Three things happened in 2024 that shape ownership today.
First, the Starling Community Development District was established by Charlotte County Ordinance No. 2024-007 in March 2024, after a public hearing on March 26, 2024, covering 296.63 acres (Starling Community Development District, Ordinance No. 2024-007). A notice of establishment was recorded in April 2024 (Starling Community Development District, Notice of Establishment).
Second, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. filed with the state in June 2024 (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.).
Third, the first plat recorded. Starling Phase 1 was recorded on August 2, 2024, in Plat Book 27, Page 15, after the County Commission approved it on July 23, 2024 (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter). The letter approved 388 single-family lots and called the project "the first phase of a residential development to consist of three phases".
The county's January 2025 approval plans Esplanade at Starling as 774 single-family homesites in three phases (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter). That letter, dated January 2, 2025, set Phase 1 at 407 lots. To match it, Starling Phase 1 Replat 1 was recorded on April 11, 2025, in Plat Book 28, Page 4 (Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter). After the replat, the roll shows 407 platted homesites (our count).
The amenity center site plan was approved in a decision letter of March 3, 2025 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter), and a Phase 2 site plan of 131 single-family lots in a letter of May 2, 2025 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-224 decision letter). The amenities and master plan sections below cover both.
The district sold its only bonds that fall. The $12,530,000 Series 2025 Special Assessment Revenue Bonds closed on November 7, 2025, and are repaid through May 1, 2056 (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of January 7, 2026). The fee section explains what those bonds mean for a homeowner.
The first recorded home sales came in 2025. We print no launch month or grand-opening date, because none comes from a county or district record.
Starling Phase 1 Replat 2 was recorded on February 4, 2026, in Plat Book 28, Page 19 (Charlotte County, PFP-25-12 decision letter). It is a small replat of nine lots at the model row on Dove Drive, the street where Taylor Morrison's sales center and models sit at 26601 Dove Drive (builder marketing). The appraiser's roll still lists those nine lots under Replat 1, so county files and the plat book describe the same lots under different plat names for now.
In mid-2026 the county approved a reduction of the construction performance bond that secures the Replat 1 improvements (Charlotte County, BRR-26-08 decision letter). A bond reduction is the county's routine step as required streets, drainage and utilities are inspected and accepted; it is not a statement that every street is finished. Ask the builder which improvements on your street have been accepted.
The county roll lists 457 parcels across the Starling plats. Of those, 407 are platted homesites (our count) and 50 are tracts: lakes, roads, open space, the amenity site and land held for future development (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll files, our analysis). The 457 figure is a parcel count, not a count of homes.
Forty-two single-family homes stand on the roll, all built in 2025. They range from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet of heated living area (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis). The roll lags construction, so more homes may be finished or closed than the roll shows, and we do not use the roll to count empty or available lots.
Street on the roll | Single-family homes with a year built (all 2025) |
|---|---|
Victoria Place | 16 |
Lark Court | 9 |
Dove Drive | 8 |
Dunlin Avenue | 7 |
Robin Avenue | 2 |
Total | 42 |
Source: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll files, our analysis. Arbor Circle, Blue Court, Argus Place, Adelie Way and Brent Lane carry no home with a year built on this roll.
Read the table as a snapshot of a roll in motion. The first finished homes sit in the original Phase 1 core around Victoria Place, Dove Drive, Dunlin Avenue, Lark Court and Robin Avenue. The streets added by the 2025 replat show no year built yet, even though the county file records closed sales on some of them; those homes closed after the roll's cut-off for new buildings.
In calendar 2025 the county file shows 14 qualified sales of improved properties on the Starling plats, with a median of $595,300. From January 1 to September 26, 2026 it shows 38, with a median of $537,350 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Each figure has its own count and window, and we do not add or average them. Four of the 2025 sales fall before the 12-month window used in the market section, so the two calendar figures do not combine into the 12-month count.
No Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet, so the 12-month record is first sales of new homes from the builder (our analysis). The market section of this page covers the 12-month picture, the price bands and what the record can and cannot tell you.
Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
September 19, 2006 | County rezones the land as a planned development under the name Harborside, never built | |
September 8, 2021 | Zoning official approves the concept plan with a private amenity center | |
October 26, 2021 | Ordinance 2021-036 adopted: about 297 acres, up to 1,440 homes | |
April 26, 2022 | County approves a density transfer, applicant Taylor Morrison of Florida, Inc. | |
October 11, 2022 | Preliminary plat "Starling" approved | |
May 22, 2023 | Phase 1 final detail site plan letter issued | |
March 26, 2024 | Public hearing; Ordinance No. 2024-007 establishes the Starling Community Development District | |
June 2024 | Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. files with the state | |
August 2, 2024 | Starling Phase 1 plat recorded, Plat Book 27, Page 15 | |
January 2, 2025 | County plans 774 single-family homesites in three phases | |
March 3, 2025 | Starling Amenity Center site plan approved | |
April 11, 2025 | Starling Phase 1 Replat 1 recorded, Plat Book 28, Page 4 | |
May 2, 2025 | Phase 2 site plan of 131 single-family lots approved | |
2025 | First recorded home sales on the Starling plats | |
November 7, 2025 | District closes $12,530,000 of Series 2025 bonds | |
February 4, 2026 | Starling Phase 1 Replat 2 recorded, Plat Book 28, Page 19 | |
August 5, 2026 | District adopts its fiscal year 2027 budget, the first with homesite assessments | |
November 3, 2026 | Landowners' election for district Seats 3, 4 and 5 | |
Early 2027 | Taylor Morrison says The Venue clubhouse is slated to open | Taylor Morrison, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026 |
Buyers comparing Esplanade at Starling with other new-construction communities nearby can read how Turnleaf and Heritage Landing came together, and our guide to new construction in Punta Gorda explains what to ask any builder.
The master plan for Esplanade at Starling calls for 774 single-family homesites in three phases on about 297 acres, under zoning that allows up to 1,440 homes. Three recorded plats, the 2024 plat and its two replats, hold 407 homesites today, a 131-lot Phase 2 site plan is approved but not platted, and no build-out date is published.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Ordinance 2021-036; decision letters DRC-24-171, DRC-24-224, FP-22-03-09, PFP-24-05 and PFP-25-12; Charlotte County GIS subdivision layer; Starling Community Development District Ordinance No. 2024-007; Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll files, our analysis).
Two numbers describe the size of Esplanade at Starling, and they come from different kinds of documents. The county's January 2025 approval plans 774 single-family homesites in three phases (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter). The zoning, Ordinance 2021-036, allows up to 1,440 homes (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010).
A ceiling is the most the county will allow, not a promise. The 774 figure is the plan the county approved for this builder, and the district's assessment methodology is built on the same 774 homesites in three lot classes (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology). We print both numbers, label each, and do not treat the gap between them as a fact about future building.
Other totals circulate in press coverage and older documents. They do not match the county's current approval, and we do not repeat them. When a listing or article gives a size for Esplanade at Starling, ask which county document it comes from.
The planned development covers about 297 acres, and the district boundary set by Ordinance No. 2024-007 covers 296.63 acres (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010; Starling Community Development District, Ordinance No. 2024-007). The small differences between documents come from survey and rounding. The district figure is the one that decides which land the district can assess.
Plat or plan | Status as we found it | Homesites | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
Starling Phase 1 | Recorded August 2, 2024, Plat Book 27, Page 15 | The first recorded plat; part of it was re-cut by Replat 1 | |
Starling Phase 1 Replat 1 | Recorded April 11, 2025, Plat Book 28, Page 4 | 292 single-family lots in the replat | |
Starling Phase 1 Replat 2 | Recorded February 4, 2026, Plat Book 28, Page 19 | A replat of nine lots at the model row on Dove Drive | |
Platted homesites on the roll today | 2026-09-27 county roll | 407 (our count), matching the county's 407-lot Phase 1 | |
Phase 2 | Site plan approved 2025; no plat recorded as of October 2, 2026 | 131 single-family lots | |
Phase 3 | Planned; no site plan or plat found | Not published |
Phase 2 is approved on paper, not platted. Its site plan covers 21.37 acres of a 47.96 acre parcel (Charlotte County, DRC-24-224 decision letter), and the county's subdivision layer showed no Phase 2 plat on October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County GIS, SubDivisions layer). A site plan can change before a plat records, so we do not call those lots platted.
A replat redraws lots on land already platted. Replat 1, recorded in 2025, re-cut part of the 2024 plat "for consistency with the modification to the Final Detail Site Plan", and its decision letter counts 292 single-family lots (Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter). The result on the roll is 407 numbered homesites across the original plat and Replat 1 (our count from the roll).
Replat 2 is much smaller. It re-cut nine lots at the model row on Dove Drive, south of Dove Drive, northeast of Blue Court and west of Brent Lane (Charlotte County, PFP-25-12 decision letter). The appraiser's roll still lists those lots under Replat 1. If you are buying on that row, the title commitment will cite the plat that now controls your lot; read it rather than the roll's short legal description.
Every homesite on the recorded plats is single-family detached (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter; Charlotte County, PFP-24-05 decision letter). The zoning would also allow attached homes, but no attached product appears on any Starling plat or site plan (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010). Taylor Morrison's 14 current plans are all single-family designs (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
The district assesses homesites in three classes, 42-foot, 52-foot and 62-foot, and Taylor Morrison sells three collections with the same names, 42, 52 and 62 (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology; Taylor Morrison, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The class names are a billing and marketing vocabulary. The recorded plat is the document that gives a lot's true dimensions, and the class of any one lot comes from the district's assessment roll or an estoppel letter. We print no lot widths measured from county maps and no count of lots per class.
The 2021 ordinance carries conditions that shape what a buyer sees (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010). Our reading of the scanned conditions:
The ordinance's scanned pages include struck-through and underlined amendment text, so the exact wording may differ slightly from our reading. The phasing plan and monitoring reports it requires were not in the public petition file. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Further density transfers would be needed before later phases, and none was found in the county's petition files as of October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County, TDU-22-02 resolution). In Charlotte County, a planned development's density above the base often has to be transferred in from other land through a separate county approval. The 2022 transfer covered the first phase. For a buyer, this is a reminder that later phases still have county steps ahead of them.
The roll holds several large future-development tracts owned by Taylor Morrison, where later phases would sit if the three-phase plan holds (Charlotte County GIS, Ownership layer). Those tracts are land, not lots. Until a plat records, nothing about their street layout, lot classes or timing is fixed.
The lakes are stormwater lakes the district will own and maintain, and the district's engineer describes a system of curbs, inlets, pipe, control structures and open lakes (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). The zoning also protects on-site wetlands and upland buffers under a Native Habitat Management Plan (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010). Many homesites back onto stormwater lakes; the builder's homesite map, not the county's waterfront flag, shows which.
The build-out year and the schedule for later phases are not published in any record we read. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). We do not infer a build-out date from the bond term or the sales pace.
The size of the third phase is not settled in any county record either. The county's own plat letter says only that the development will have three phases (Charlotte County, FP-22-03-09 decision letter). We print no Phase 3 lot count.
The county records give three stages. Platted: 407 homesites. Approved by site plan, not platted: 131 Phase 2 lots. Planned: 774 homesites in total under the January 2025 approval. Each stage has its own status, and none is a forecast of how many homes will exist by any date.
The finished homes are in the original Phase 1 core. The 2025 replat streets are platted and partly sold, Phase 2 is approved but not platted, and a third phase is still land. A buyer today lives next to active construction for as long as later phases take to build, and that timing is not published.
Before you sign, ask Taylor Morrison which plat your lot is on, which district class applies to it, whether the debt assessment on your lot will be prepaid at closing (the fee section explains why that matters), and what is planned for the land behind and beside it. Our guide to buying a home in Punta Gorda lists what we check on every new-build contract.
Esplanade at Starling is governed in three layers. Charlotte County, not the City of Punta Gorda, sets zoning and collects taxes. The Starling Community Development District finances stormwater, water and sewer. Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., still run by Taylor Morrison appointees, enforces a recorded Declaration that was not available to us.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Division of Corporations records read October 2, 2026; Starling Community Development District website, FAQ, Ordinance No. 2024-007, budgets and agenda packages of May 1, 2024, August 15, 2025, November 5, 2025, January 7, 2026 and August 5, 2026; Charlotte County Property Appraiser; Charlotte County DRC-24-156 decision letter).
Esplanade at Starling sits in unincorporated Charlotte County, even though its mailing address says Punta Gorda (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, parcel record 422316200057). Zoning, building permits, platting and code enforcement run through Charlotte County, and the county's rate chart for tax district 121 shows no City of Punta Gorda levy (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 final rates by tax district). The community is in County Commission District 2 (Charlotte County GIS, CCGISLayers).
For an owner, that means county services and county rules apply here, not the city's. Water and sewer come from Charlotte County Utilities, and the county decides what can be built on the land around the community.
There is one association: Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., Florida document number N24000006543, filed in June 2024 and active on the state record as of October 2, 2026 (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.). It is a not-for-profit corporation, and its principal address on the state record is a Taylor Morrison office in Bonita Springs.
We do not print the association's officers, the firm named to receive legal papers, or its management company. Those change, and the state record is the place to read them on the day you need them.
We searched the state's corporate records for any other association tied to this community, including names beginning "Esplanade at Starling" and "Starling" followed by property owners, master or community, and found none (Florida Division of Corporations, name search for Esplanade at Starling). No sub-association or master association was found. Some district documents use generic terms such as "property owners association" or "master property owner's association", but those are standard wording, and only one association exists on the state record.
Other Florida associations with Starling or Esplanade in their names belong to other communities. The sub-communities section below explains the name traps.
The association's officers on the state record also sit on the district board, whose members are Taylor Morrison employees; no turnover date was found (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.; Starling Community Development District, minutes of May 1, 2024). That is normal in a new Florida community. Chapter 720 of the Florida Statutes sets when members must be allowed to elect directors, and the recorded Declaration sets the details for a specific community (Florida Statutes, section 720.307).
Until turnover, the developer's appointees adopt the budget, set the dues and enforce the rules. A buyer should read the budget the association has adopted for the current year and ask how it has changed since the first homes closed.
The recorded Declaration for Starling was not available to us; it controls rentals, pets, vehicles, age rules and resale. We could not retrieve it, the bylaws or the rules from the public record, so we cannot tell you what they say about leasing minimums, short-term rentals, pet limits, boats and trailers, commercial vehicles, golf carts, signs, fences, architectural review or any approval needed to sell.
The route to read it is a document request, not a guess. The Declaration is recorded in the Charlotte County Official Records, and Taylor Morrison is required by Florida law to give a buyer a disclosure summary about the association before a contract is signed (Florida Statutes, section 720.401). Ask for the recorded Declaration, bylaws and rules in writing before you sign, and have your title company confirm the recording reference. Where a reader would expect a rule, this is the line to use: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Esplanade at Starling is not marketed as a 55+ community. Taylor Morrison's listing data marks its homes as not age-restricted, and the district's 2025 draft bond document describes it as active-lifestyle and age-targeted (Taylor Morrison, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026; Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 15, 2025). No recorded age restriction was found; the Declaration controls.
Age-targeted and age-restricted are different things. An age-restricted community limits who may live there through its governing documents. An age-targeted community is designed and marketed with older buyers in mind, without such a limit in any record we found here. If an age rule matters to you either way, the recorded Declaration is the only document that settles it.
Esplanade at Starling is gated (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The county's site plan conditions require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter; Charlotte County, DRC-22-00193 decision letter). The district's engineer notes that "certain roadways will be gated" and that landscaping behind gated roads is privately installed and maintained (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). Gate hours, staffing and guest procedures are association rules. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The internal roads are private and belong to the association; the district finances stormwater, water and sewer lines, not the roads (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). The engineer's report describes the roads as funded by the developer and dedicated to the association for ownership and maintenance, built to county standards, with the district holding access rights to maintain its utilities.
Private roads are why the community can be gated, and they are also a long-term cost. Repaving, signs and gate equipment are association expenses, paid through dues. When you read the association's budget, look for a road reserve.
The Starling Community Development District was established by Charlotte County Ordinance No. 2024-007 in March 2024, covering 296.63 acres, and is managed by Wrathell, Hunt and Associates (Starling Community Development District, Ordinance No. 2024-007; Starling Community Development District, About the District). It is a unit of special-purpose local government under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes (Florida Statutes, Chapter 190).
A district borrows with bonds to build infrastructure, repays the bonds through annual assessments on the lots it serves, and levies an operating assessment to run itself. Its fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30. The district posts its agendas, budgets and notices on its own website, and Florida law treats those as public records (Starling Community Development District, Required Reporting of Information).
The district finances stormwater, water and sewer, not the roads or the amenities (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). Its capital plan covers earthwork for stormwater, the stormwater system, potable water and sewer lines, perimeter walls, perimeter landscaping, environmental mitigation and off-site road work on Burnt Store Road. The district will own and maintain the stormwater system. Water and sewer lines are dedicated to Charlotte County Utilities, which operates them.
The district has the legal power to fund recreation and security, but its plan and budget do not include the amenity center (Starling Community Development District, Ordinance No. 2024-007; Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget). The ordinance grants those powers under section 190.012(2)(a) and (2)(d) of the Florida Statutes (Florida Statutes, section 190.012). Having a power is not the same as using it, and nothing in the district's current records uses it.
The engineer's report also says the developer intends to lease streetlights through an agreement with a local utility and fund them through an annual operations and maintenance assessment, without naming which body would levy it (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). Ask which bill carries the streetlights before you budget.
The district has five supervisors, and every one is a Taylor Morrison employee (Starling Community Development District, minutes of May 1, 2024; Starling Community Development District, About the District). At that 2024 meeting, district counsel had the supervisors acknowledge on the record that, as developer-affiliated board members, they may vote on matters involving Taylor Morrison. We do not name supervisors on this page.
A landowners' election for Seats 3, 4 and 5 is set for November 3, 2026, at 26601 Dove Drive (Starling Community Development District). In a landowners' election, votes are cast one per acre, so the landowner that still holds most of the land decides the outcome. The district's FAQ explains when that changes: after the sixth year and once the district has 250 qualified electors, the seats whose terms are expiring are filled by qualified electors, meaning voters who live in the district (Starling Community Development District, FAQs).
District meetings are held at 26601 Dove Drive, the same address as Taylor Morrison's sales center (Starling Community Development District). The board adopted the fiscal year 2027 budget at a public hearing on August 5, 2026 (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 5, 2026). Minutes of that hearing had not been posted when we checked. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Any owner or buyer can attend a district meeting and read the agenda package in advance. Packages are where budgets, assessment notices, bond documents and maintenance agreements appear first, which is why we read them for this page. The district states that audited financial reports are not yet required (Starling Community Development District, Required Reporting of Information).
Layer | Who it is | What it decides | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
County | Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners | Zoning, plats, permits, county taxes and service assessments | |
District | Starling Community Development District, five supervisors, managed by Wrathell, Hunt and Associates | Stormwater system, district debt, the district assessment by lot class | |
Association | Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., developer-appointed directors | Private roads, common areas, gate, amenities once conveyed, lawn care, rules under the Declaration | Recorded Declaration (not available to us); state corporate record |
For an owner, the practical point is that a lake, a road or a streetlight may belong to the district, the association or the county, depending on the tract. The title commitment and the recorded plat for your lot are the documents that answer it.
Owning a home in Esplanade at Starling means county property tax at 15.0855 mills for 2025, a Starling district assessment of $1,051.83 to $1,499.52 a year for fiscal 2027 by lot class, an association fee the developer estimates at $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn care, and county fire and solid waste charges.
Data updated: October 2026 (Starling Community Development District FY2027 adopted budget, FY2026 budget and agenda packages of August 15, 2025, November 5, 2025, January 7, 2026 and August 5, 2026; Charlotte County Property Appraiser 2025 final and 2026 proposed rates; Charlotte County MSBU records, MSBU year 2027; read October 2, 2026).
Read three things before the table. First, fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027) is the district's adopted budget and the first year it levies assessments on homesites (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget). Earlier years were funded by the landowner.
Second, the debt part may already be prepaid on some Phase 1 homes. The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the operations assessment. Only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology).
Third, the billing route. The 2027 budget expects to bill the assessment directly, and the district's notice says some developed homes may see it on the county tax bill instead (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget; Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 5, 2026). Check the tax bill and ask the district manager.
Every billed layer we could identify is in this Fee Stack. Where a layer is unpublished, the table says so and does not estimate.
Layer | Amount | Period | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Starling district, 42-foot homesite | $1,051.83 (operations $111.70 plus Series 2025 debt $940.13) | Annual, FY2027 | District administration; debt service on the Series 2025 bonds that built stormwater, water, sewer, walls, landscaping and mitigation | |
Starling district, 52-foot homesite | $1,275.68 (operations $111.70 plus debt $1,163.97) | Annual, FY2027 | Same | |
Starling district, 62-foot homesite | $1,499.52 (operations $111.70 plus debt $1,387.82) | Annual, FY2027 | Same | |
District notice note | The mailed July 2026 notice states operations at $118.83 per home including collection costs and early payment discounts; the budget figures above are after those adjustments | Annual | Operations | |
District debt term | Series 2025 bonds repaid through May 1, 2056; prepayment allowed; a payoff amount comes from the district manager (Wrathell, Hunt and Associates) | Through 2056 | Debt service | |
Starling Homeowners Association | Estimated $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn maintenance, subject to change (the district's 2025 draft bond offering document, figures furnished by the developer); adopted budget not available | Annual | Association common areas, private roads, amenities once conveyed, lawn maintenance | August 15, 2025 agenda; adopted budget: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). |
Club or amenity dues | None found in any record | n/a | n/a | District and county records read for this page |
County ad valorem millage, tax district 121 | 15.0855 mills for 2025; 15.4046 mills proposed for 2026 (sum of the published proposed rates); final 2026 not posted | Annual | County, schools, law enforcement, lighting, water management, navigation, environmentally sensitive lands | |
Charlotte County Fire Rescue MSBU | $294.90 per home (MSBU year 2027) | Annual | Fire and emergency medical service | |
Sanitation (solid waste) MSBU | $335.51 per home (MSBU year 2027) | Annual | Curbside collection and disposal | |
South Charlotte Stormwater MSBU | $26.75 per acre of lot (MSBU year 2027) | Annual | County stormwater utility | |
Capital contribution at closing | Unpublished | One time | Unpublished | Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). |
Transfer, estoppel and resale certificate | Unpublished (estoppel fees are capped by section 720.30851, Florida Statutes) | At sale | Unpublished | |
Owner's title policy | In Charlotte County the seller customarily pays; the contract controls | At sale | Title insurance | County custom |
Homeowners and flood insurance | Unpublished (no quotes) | Annual | Wind, flood, liability | Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). |
The district's operating charge is the same for every homesite. The debt charge differs by class, because larger homesites carry a larger share of the bonds. For fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027) the district's adopted budget lists $1,051.83 a year for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for 52-foot and $1,499.52 for 62-foot, of which $111.70 is operations and the rest is Series 2025 debt service (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget).
District class | FY2027 operations | FY2027 Series 2025 debt service | FY2027 total |
|---|---|---|---|
42-foot homesite | $111.70 | $940.13 | $1,051.83 |
52-foot homesite | $111.70 | $1,163.97 | $1,275.68 |
62-foot homesite | $111.70 | $1,387.82 | $1,499.52 |
Source: Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget. Totals as printed in the budget; the 52-foot total is one cent above the sum of its two parts because of rounding in the source.
The mailed July 2026 notice states the operations charge at $118.83 per home, a figure that includes collection costs and early payment discounts (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 5, 2026). The budget's $111.70 is the same charge after those adjustments. The notice also explains that the noticed amount becomes the maximum rate, so owners receive a new mailed notice only if the district proposes to raise the operations charge above it.
Fiscal year 2027 is the first year the district levies assessments on homesites; earlier years were funded by the landowner (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget; Starling Community Development District, FY2026 adopted budget). The fiscal 2026 budget was funded entirely by a landowner contribution, and the fiscal 2027 budget's comparison column shows no per-unit assessment for the prior year. That is why a buyer who closed in 2025 may not have seen a district charge yet. It is not a sign the charge will stay at zero.
The fiscal 2027 operating budget is administrative: management, legal, engineering, audit, trustee, insurance and similar lines (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget). It has no amenity, pool or clubhouse line. As the district takes on more of the stormwater system and more homes close, the operating side of the budget can change from year to year.
The district has one bond issue: $12,530,000 Series 2025 Special Assessment Revenue Bonds, closed November 7, 2025, repaid through May 1, 2056 (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of January 7, 2026; Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025).
Bond fact | Series 2025 |
|---|---|
Amount | $12,530,000 |
Closed | November 7, 2025 |
Final principal payment | May 1, 2056 |
Coupons | 4.500 percent (maturities 2027 to 2035), 5.375 percent (2036 to 2045), 5.600 percent (2046 to 2056) |
Payments | Principal each May 1; interest each May 1 and November 1 |
Recorded lien | Notice of Series 2025 Assessments, Charlotte County Official Records, Instrument No. 3586017 |
Sources: Starling Community Development District, agenda package of January 7, 2026; FY2027 adopted budget.
The recorded notice is the document a title company finds when it searches your lot. It tells the world that the Series 2025 assessment runs with the land until it is paid. The bonds fund only the first part of the district's plan; the developer agreed to complete the rest under a separate completion agreement approved in November 2025 (Starling Community Development District, minutes of November 5, 2025).
The district's 2025 draft bond document says it intends to issue more bonds for later work (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 15, 2025). No amount or date is set. A later series would be assessed on the land it benefits, which is usually land not yet platted, but the methodology for any new series is adopted when it is sold. If you buy in a later phase, ask whether your lot carries Series 2025 debt, a later series, or both.
The district's final methodology says the developer "currently intends to fully prepay" the Series 2025 assessments on Phase 1 homes at closing with a retail buyer (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology). If that happens on a given home, the owner pays only the operations charge, $111.70 a year under the fiscal 2027 budget, and not the debt line.
An intent is not a guarantee, and Phase 1 in the district's sense is not the same as one street. Only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home. Ask for that letter before you sign, and ask the builder to state in the contract whether the debt assessment on your lot will be prepaid at closing.
The same methodology notes that the developer asked the district to cap annual debt assessments at predetermined levels "to facilitate the marketing of the residential units" (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology). It is one reason the debt figures above are set by class rather than recalculated from scratch each year.
Prepayment is allowed under the district's methodology, and a payoff amount for a specific home comes from the district manager, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates (Starling Community Development District, About the District; Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025). We print no payoff figure, because only the district manager's letter for your parcel is current.
Once the debt assessment on a lot is paid in full, the annual debt charge no longer applies to that lot. The operating charge continues, because it pays for running the district every year. Whether prepaying makes sense depends on how long you expect to own the home and on your other uses for the money, which is a question for your own adviser.
The 2027 budget books both the operations and debt levies as billed directly by the district (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget). The district's July 2026 notice says the Tax Collector will collect the operations assessment on "certain developed property" and the district will bill the rest directly (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 5, 2026). So an owner may see the district on the county tax bill, on a district invoice, or both. We did not see a tax bill for a Starling home.
This matters for two reasons. If your mortgage lender escrows taxes, a direct district bill is not in that escrow unless you add it. And if the district later moves your lot to the tax bill, the charge does not go away; it moves. Check the tax bill and ask the district manager how your lot is billed.
The district's draft 2025 bond offering document, using figures furnished by the developer, estimates association fees of $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn maintenance, subject to change. The association's adopted budget was not available to us (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 15, 2025). The document applies the estimate "for all product types".
Treat that range as an estimate from an offering document, not a bill. The association's adopted budget for the current year, and the estoppel certificate on a specific home, are the documents that set what you will pay. Lawn maintenance in the association fee is a real line item for a buyer: it is a cost you would otherwise pay a contractor, and it also means the association controls the landscaping schedule. Ask what the lawn service includes.
Other figures for association dues appear in marketing tools. We do not print them, because only figures that trace to an adopted budget, a district record or a county record appear on this page.
No separate club membership or club dues appear in any record we read; the district's records say the developer funds the amenities for conveyance to the association (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 15, 2025; Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). In practice, that means the cost of running the clubhouse, pool and courts will sit inside the association budget once they are conveyed. The amenities section covers status and ownership.
The county's 2025 final rates for tax district 121 total 15.0855 mills (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 final rates by tax district). A mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value, so 15.0855 mills is $1,508.55 per $100,000 of taxable value, before any non-ad valorem lines (our arithmetic). Taxable value for a given home depends on its assessed value and on exemptions such as homestead, which we cannot know for your parcel.
Taxing authority, tax district 121 | 2025 mills | 2026 proposed mills |
|---|---|---|
County general fund | 6.0394 | 6.1576 |
County law enforcement | 2.1449 | 2.3618 |
County lighting | 0.1907 | 0.1907 |
Environmentally sensitive lands (voter approved) | 0.2000 | 0.2000 |
West Coast Inland Navigation District | 0.0394 | 0.0394 |
Southwest Florida Water Management District | 0.1831 | 0.1831 |
School, required by state law | 3.0400 | 3.0240 |
School, local board | 3.2480 | 3.2480 |
Total | 15.0855 | 15.4046 |
Sources: Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 final rates by tax district; 2026 proposed rates. The 2026 total is our sum of the proposed line items.
The final adopted 2026 rate was not posted when we checked. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The countywide street lighting district is billed through the lighting millage above, not as a separate charge.
The county's records for a built Starling home show three non-ad valorem assessments, each listed for MSBU year 2027 (Charlotte County MSBU records).
County assessment | Basis | Rate shown | Prior rate | Maximum rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlotte County Fire Rescue | Per home | $294.90 | $278.20 | $372.30 |
Sanitation (solid waste collection and disposal) | Per home | $335.51 | $324.64 | $340.00 |
South Charlotte Stormwater Utility | Per acre of lot | $26.75 | $26.75 | $26.75 |
Source: Charlotte County MSBU records. The county's page does not state the tax year of the rate field; the records list it under MSBU year 2027.
The stormwater charge is small because it is per acre. On a 0.18-acre homesite, $26.75 per acre works out to about $4.82 a year (our arithmetic). No county street and drainage assessment appears on the Starling parcels we checked. The district does not appear in the county's assessment database, because districts levy their own assessments.
The Declaration is where a capital contribution, working-capital fee or transfer fee would appear, and it was not available to us. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Estoppel certificates are issued at a live sale, and Florida law caps what an association may charge for them (Florida Statutes, section 720.30851). In Charlotte County the seller customarily pays the owner's title policy; the contract controls.
Homeowners and flood insurance premiums depend on the home, its construction and its flood zone, and we obtained no quotes. We print no premium. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Flood mapping and insurance rules have their own sections on this page.
Each nearby community prints its district figures on its own page, on its own basis. We show them side by side without netting one against another.
Community | Fees as each page states them | Source |
|---|---|---|
Esplanade at Starling | Starling district FY2027 $1,051.83 to $1,499.52 by lot class; association estimate $4,459 to $4,699 a year (draft) | This guide |
Turnleaf | Coral Creek district FY2026 on-roll $1,946.81 to $3,015.02 per single-family home; association dues not published | |
Willow | Tuckers Pointe district FY2027 $1,113.20 to $2,246.57; master association estimate about $2,116 to $3,804 a year (offering statement) | |
Heritage Landing | Tern Bay district operating assessment $1,356.09 per home for fiscal 2027 |
The fiscal years, bond structures and what each fee includes differ, so a lower district number does not by itself mean a lower total cost. Esplanade at Starling's estimate includes lawn care in the association fee, for example, and its district debt may be prepaid on some Phase 1 homes. For any new community in Charlotte County, add the district's operations charge, its debt service, the association's dues and the county tax, and read each on its own basis.
Before you sign for an Esplanade at Starling home, ask in writing for the following. Every item is a document.
The Punta Gorda buyer guide lists the documents we ask for on every new-construction contract.
Esplanade at Starling has no sub-community with its own association, plat family or rules. It is one set of Starling plats, one homeowners association and one district. Taylor Morrison's 42, 52 and 62 Collections and the streets they sit on are places to know inside it, but crossing between them does not change who governs you.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County GIS subdivision and ownership layers; Florida Division of Corporations; Starling Community Development District Final Supplemental Methodology; Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll and sales files, our analysis; Taylor Morrison community page, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
Every Esplanade at Starling homesite we found sits on one of the Starling plats, inside one planned development, one homeowners association and one community development district (Charlotte County GIS, SubDivisions layer; Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.; Starling Community Development District, Ordinance No. 2024-007). The property appraiser does not split Starling into smaller neighborhoods either; every parcel carries the same market area and neighborhood code (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll files, our analysis).
Taylor Morrison does not market named villages or enclaves here. It sells by collection. For that reason, none of the places described below earns a separate page, and this page covers all of Esplanade at Starling.
Taylor Morrison sells three collections, named 42, 52 and 62, with 14 floor plans from 1,483 to 4,591 square feet, one and two stories, 2 to 6 bedrooms (Taylor Morrison, Esplanade at Starling community page, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The district assesses homesites in three classes with matching names, 42-foot, 52-foot and 62-foot (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology).
A collection is what Taylor Morrison sells on a homesite, and a class is how the district bills it. Neither is a place with its own rules. Two neighbors on the same street could, in principle, sit in different collections and pay different district debt charges, while sharing the same association, gate and amenities. The class of any one lot comes from the district's assessment roll or an estoppel letter, not from the plan name on a brochure.
Collection | Plan | From | Beds | Sq ft | Stories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
42 | Alta | $313,999 | 2 | 1,483 | 1 |
42 | Rivera | $343,999 | 2 | 1,677 | 1 |
42 | Vento | $353,999 | 3 | 1,709 | 1 |
52 | Monte | $377,999 | 2 | 1,843 | 1 |
52 | Marino | $407,999 | 3 | 2,085 | 1 |
52 | Lavello | $434,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,306 | 1 |
52 | Florence | $505,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,628 | 2 |
52 | Genoa | $532,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,903 | 2 |
62 | Cresta | $457,999 | 3 | 2,475 | 1 |
62 | Cascata | $477,999 | 3 | 2,573 | 1 |
62 | Palermo | $514,999 | 3 to 4 | 2,833 | 1 |
62 | Colina | $541,999 | 3 | 2,861 | 1 |
62 | Argenta | $606,999 | 4 | 3,745 | 2 |
62 | Ravenna | $626,999 | 5 to 6 | 4,591 | 2 |
Source: Taylor Morrison, Esplanade at Starling community page and plan data, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026.
These are builder marketing figures. They are base prices before options, homesite premiums and incentives, they change without notice, and they are not recorded sale prices. The county's recorded sales, which include whatever options and premiums buyers chose, are in the market section of this page. Do not read the lowest base price as a floor for what homes here sell for.
The streets are the closest thing Esplanade at Starling has to neighborhoods, and a buyer will meet them one by one. The roll shows where homes stand today (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public roll files, our analysis):
The highest recorded prices are on Brent Lane, Dove Drive and Victoria Place; the lowest on Lark Court and Robin Avenue (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The highest recorded sale was $1,014,800 on Brent Lane on July 24, 2026. We print no median for a single street, because the counts are too small to be reliable.
The evacuation zone can differ by street. The county's evacuation layer splits the community between Zone C and Zone D, and the hurricane section of this page explains which streets fall where.
Phase 1, Replat 1 and Replat 2 are plats recorded in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and Phase 2 is an approved site plan (Charlotte County GIS, SubDivisions layer; Charlotte County, DRC-24-224 decision letter). They share the association, the district, the gate and the amenity center, so crossing from one to another does not change who governs you.
Phase does matter in one way: the district's methodology ties the developer's prepayment intent to Phase 1 (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of November 5, 2025, Final Supplemental Methodology). In the county's approval, Phase 1 is the 407-lot first phase, which takes in both the 2024 plat and the 2025 replat (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter). Ask which phase your lot is in for the district's purposes, and get the estoppel letter.
The 42-foot, 52-foot and 62-foot classes describe how a homesite is billed, not where it is (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget). The fee section lays out each class.
Many homesites back onto stormwater lakes, and some face the preserved wetland areas protected by the zoning (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010). The builder's homesite map, not the county's waterfront flag, shows which. A lake view is a feature of a lot, not a separate section with separate rules, and lake use rules were not available to us.
Taylor Morrison uses the Esplanade name on several Florida communities; this guide covers only Esplanade at Starling on Burnt Store Road (Taylor Morrison, builder marketing). Each of those communities has its own association, its own fees and its own amenities, and none of their figures applies here. When you search for Esplanade fees, reviews or amenity photos, check that the page names Starling and Punta Gorda. Describe the amenities here from the county approval and the builder's dated status, not from photos labelled for another community.
The name Starling also belongs to unrelated communities and businesses in other parts of Florida. Always search for "Esplanade at Starling, Punta Gorda" or "Starling in Charlotte County". The district's own name, Starling Community Development District, and the association's name, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., are the two that identify this community on paper (Starling Community Development District).
Turnleaf, directly north, is a separate master plan with its own district (Coral Creek CDD) (McGreevy and Comisar, Turnleaf). It has its own plats, its own association and its own planned amenity center, and Esplanade at Starling's clubhouse is not part of it.
Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club lies across Burnt Store Road, with its own district (McGreevy and Comisar, Heritage Landing). Willow lies to the northeast, east of US 41, with its own district (Tuckers Pointe CDD) (McGreevy and Comisar, Willow). Coral Lakes, also to the north, has its own Coral Lakes CDD (Charlotte County GIS, Petitions layer). None shares Esplanade at Starling's association, gate, amenities or fees.
The county approved the Starling Amenity Center for Esplanade at Starling in 2025: a clubhouse, Bahama bar, pool, tennis court, pickleball and bocce courts, garden and two dog parks on about 6.8 acres. As of October 2, 2026, Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open and The Venue clubhouse as slated for early 2027.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County DRC-24-156 decision letter of March 3, 2025; Charlotte County Ordinance 2021-036; Starling Community Development District Master Engineer's Report, FY2027 budget and 2025 draft bond document; Taylor Morrison community page, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026; Safe Harbor Marinas; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).
The county approved the Starling Amenity Center on about 6.8 acres: "a clubhouse, Bahama bar, pool, tennis court, pickle ball courts, bocce ball courts, mail kiosk, community garden, large dog park, and small dog park" (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter). The decision letter is dated March 3, 2025. Its conditions require hydrants within reach of each building, clear fire access roads, adherence to the Native Habitat Management Plan, and gate arms with an emergency EVAC system.
That list is what we print as the approved program. The letter names one tennis court and does not give a number of pickleball or bocce courts, and it gives no clubhouse size. We print none.
As of October 2, 2026, Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open, the resort-style pool as coming soon, the Bahama Bar as planned and The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027, with a lifestyle room, catering kitchen, fitness center, spa treatment room and outdoor terrace (Taylor Morrison, Esplanade at Starling community page, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
Amenity | In the county approval | Builder status, seen October 2, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Dog park (large and small) | Yes | Open |
Tennis | Yes, one tennis court | Open |
Pickleball courts | Yes | Open |
Bocce courts | Yes | Listed among planned amenities |
Resort-style pool | Yes | Coming soon |
Bahama Bar | Yes, "Bahama bar" | Planned |
Clubhouse (The Venue) | Yes, "a clubhouse" | Slated to open in early 2027 |
Spa treatment room | Inside The Venue (builder) | Part of The Venue, slated to open in early 2027 |
Mail kiosk | Yes | No status given |
Community garden | Yes | No status given |
Sources: Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter; Taylor Morrison, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026.
"Open" and "coming soon" are the builder's badges, not county certificates. We found no county record of completion or an opening date for any of these items, and the builder gives a target date only for The Venue. Before you rely on an amenity, ask Taylor Morrison in writing what is finished, what residents can use today and when the rest will open.
The county calls the project the Starling Amenity Center, and Taylor Morrison calls the clubhouse building The Venue (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter; Taylor Morrison, builder marketing). They are the same amenity site. When you read a permit, a district record or an association budget, look for the county name; when you read a brochure, look for The Venue.
Taylor Morrison's planned-amenities list adds items the county letter does not name: poolside cabanas, signature spa services, fire-side seating and a fitness center inside The Venue (Taylor Morrison, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The builder describes the Bahama Bar as a full-service bar and restaurant. We print these as builder marketing. If a feature matters to your decision, ask for it to be shown on an approved site plan or building permit.
Taylor Morrison markets its Esplanade lifestyle programs here, including an on-site lifestyle manager (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The builder describes sports, social, wellness and pet programming as part of the Esplanade brand. Those programs are brand-wide, and their schedule, cost and continuation after the association takes over are not in any record we read. Who employs the lifestyle manager was not available to us. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The developer is funding the amenities, and the district's records say they will be conveyed to the association; no deed has been recorded (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report; Starling Community Development District, agenda package of August 15, 2025). The engineer's report says the amenity facilities are not part of the district's capital plan, and the district's fiscal 2027 budget has no amenity line (Starling Community Development District, FY2027 adopted budget).
No separate club membership or club dues appear in any record we read. Once the amenities are conveyed, their running costs will be part of the association's budget. That is why the association's adopted budget, which was not available to us, is the most important document for any buyer weighing the amenity program.
The zoning requires the clubhouse to be built to the county's highest wind loads and to serve as a post-storm refuge for residents, though not for all of them at once (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010). A refuge after a storm is not a public storm shelter. Charlotte County Emergency Management issues the shelter list for each storm, and the hurricane section of this page covers evacuation zones.
The concept plan approval describes a "private amenity center" (Charlotte County, DRC-21-00059 decision letter). Hours, guest policy, renter access, reservations and any use fee are association rules under the Declaration. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Esplanade at Starling has no golf course, marina or boat ramp of its own. None appears in the zoning's permitted uses, the amenity approval or the district records (Charlotte County, Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010; Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter). The lakes are stormwater lakes the district will own and maintain (Starling Community Development District, agenda package of May 1, 2024, Master Engineer's Report). Lake use rules, including fishing and paddling, were not available. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The nearest golf is Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club across Burnt Store Road, inside the Heritage Landing community. We did not confirm access terms for non-members.
The nearest full-service marina is Safe Harbor Burnt Store, in Lee County with a Punta Gorda address, about 7 road miles south (Safe Harbor Marinas, Safe Harbor Burnt Store). The operator lists wet slips for boats of 30 to 100 feet, dry storage for boats of 20 to 40 feet, and fuel daily from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our Burnt Store Marina page covers the surrounding community.
For trailered boats, the state's Charlotte Harbor boating guide lists Laishley Park and Ponce de Leon Park in Punta Gorda as public ramps with no fee, and Harbour Heights Park and the Burnt Store ramp in Cape Coral as ramps with a fee (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Charlotte Harbor boat ramps). Current fee amounts were not available. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Today a resident can use the dog park, tennis and pickleball, according to the builder. The pool, bar and clubhouse are still ahead, with only The Venue carrying a target of early 2027. A buyer who closes now pays association fees during the build-out of the amenity center, and the association's budget will carry its costs once it is conveyed. That trade is common in new Florida communities. The questions to ask are what is open on your closing date, what the association budget assumes for amenity costs, and what happens to the programming when the developer steps back.
Gulf beaches are about an hour from Esplanade at Starling by road. We measured 55 minutes to Englewood Beach and 57 minutes to Fort Myers Beach from 26000 Starling Boulevard. The closest public beach is Port Charlotte Beach Park, about 26 minutes away, on Charlotte Harbor rather than the Gulf.
Data updated: October 2026 (estimated drive times, OSRM free-flow routing, no traffic, computed October 2, 2026; Charlotte County and Florida State Parks pages read October 2, 2026).
Esplanade at Starling is inland, and no beach or boat access is part of its plat or its approved amenities. These are the beach rows from our community drive-time table.
Destination | Minutes | Road miles | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
Port Charlotte Beach Park | 26 | 13.3 | Harbor beach on Charlotte Harbor |
Englewood Beach (Chadwick Park) | 55 | 33.9 | Gulf beach |
Fort Myers Beach (Lynn Hall Park) | 57 | 34.5 | Gulf beach |
Estimated drive times from 26000 Starling Boulevard (county address point at the Burnt Store Road end), OSRM free-flow routing, no traffic (our analysis, October 2, 2026). From homes on Victoria Place, add about 2 to 3 minutes. Source: OSRM public router.
Free-flow times leave out traffic, signals and seasonal congestion, so expect longer drives in winter and at peak hours. The full drive-time table, with airports, hospitals and cities, is in the travel section of this page.
Three more beaches were measured from a different point, the community's map pin, using the same router: Stump Pass Beach State Park and Gasparilla Island State Park in Boca Grande about 62 minutes each, and Sanibel about 72 minutes (our estimate, free-flow, no traffic) (OSRM public router). Those figures are not in the table above because their starting point differs.
Port Charlotte Beach Park, 4500 Harbor Boulevard, is a harbor-front county park. The county lists a boardwalk with a fishing pier, a boat ramp, a kayak launch, courts, a playground and pavilions, with parking at 75 cents an hour and hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Charlotte County, Beaches). Dogs are not allowed on county beaches.
Part of the park is still a construction site. The county's project page, last updated October 1, 2026, shows the replacement pool and pool house in final inspections, with a forecast completion in December 2026; the new pool holds 140,000 gallons against 65,000 for the old one and is funded from the 2020 sales tax (Charlotte County, Port Charlotte Beach Pool project). It is the closest place to put your feet in salt water, but it is harbor shoreline, not a Gulf beach.
Englewood Beach at Chadwick Park, 2100 North Beach Road, is the nearest Gulf beach by road. The county lists a 900-foot boardwalk, restrooms, showers, volleyball, basketball, a playground and pavilions, with metered parking at 75 cents an hour and hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Charlotte County, Beaches). Fees and hours change, so check the county page before you go.
Stump Pass Beach State Park, at the south end of Manasota Key, lists hours of 8 a.m. to sunset and an entrance fee of $3 per vehicle (Florida State Parks, Stump Pass Beach State Park). The state describes about a mile of beach where shells and shark teeth wash up, with kayak launches.
Gasparilla Island State Park in Boca Grande lists hours of 8 a.m. to sunset and $3 per vehicle, with the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, built in 1890, and its museum (Florida State Parks, Gasparilla Island State Park). The Boca Grande Causeway charges a toll, which we did not price.
Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel are to the south in Lee County. Our table reaches Lynn Hall Park on Fort Myers Beach in 57 minutes, and the map-pin route reaches Sanibel in about 72 minutes, with the Sanibel Causeway toll not priced (OSRM public router). We did not check parking, fees or post-storm facility status on either island, so plan a first visit with the town's or city's own pages.
By road, the nearest Gulf beach is about 55 minutes from Esplanade at Starling, and the nearest public harbor beach is under half an hour. If daily beach time matters most, compare it with communities closer to the Gulf. If a state park on the doorstep, a harbor shoreline and a marina a few miles south are enough, the location works better than the beach times suggest.
Esplanade at Starling has no restaurant or store of its own yet; the Bahama Bar is planned. Residents shop where Burnt Store Road meets US 41, about 11 minutes away, and the 45,507-acre Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park has a trailhead about 6 minutes from the community's map pin.
Data updated: October 2026 (estimated drive times, OSRM free-flow routing, no traffic, computed October 2, 2026, from the community's map pin unless stated; Florida State Parks, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, Publix, Charlotte County, county tourism bureau and press pages read October 2, 2026).
The drives in this section start from the community's map pin on Taylor Morrison's page, near the center of the community, using the public OSRM router with no traffic (OSRM public router). Homes elsewhere in Esplanade at Starling will differ by a minute or two. Where we use the community drive-time table, measured from 26000 Starling Boulevard, we say so.
The community's own food and drink is still ahead. The county approved a Bahama bar at the amenity center, and Taylor Morrison lists the Bahama Bar as planned, describing it as a full-service bar and restaurant (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter; Taylor Morrison, builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The builder's lifestyle manager organizes resident events, according to the builder. A published resident calendar was not available to us. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The nearest full grocery is Publix at Burnt Store Marketplace, 3941 Tamiami Trail, about 5.0 road miles and 11 minutes from the community's map pin (Publix, Burnt Store Marketplace; OSRM public router). The store lists hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with a pharmacy and a liquor store. It sits near the junction of Burnt Store Road and US 41, which is about 4.7 road miles and 7 minutes from 26000 Starling Boulevard on our community table.
We found no grocery on Burnt Store Road between the community and US 41 in the sources we read. The county's Burnt Store Area Plan projects that by 2045 the corridor's population will support a neighborhood shopping center (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan presentation, June 11, 2024). That is a planning projection, not a store. For now, plan on driving north for errands.
Port Charlotte Town Center, the nearest enclosed mall, is 32 minutes and 16.9 road miles from 26000 Starling Boulevard on our community table (OSRM public router).
Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park is Esplanade at Starling's biggest neighbor. The state lists 45,507 acres, more than 100 miles of shoreline across Charlotte and Lee counties, hours of sunrise to sunset and no entrance fee (Florida State Parks, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park). Activities include paddling, fishing, birding, hiking and bicycling, and the park warns that there is no drinking water in the backcountry and that seasonal flooding can close trails.
The Old Datsun Trail, 1.75 miles through oak and sabal palm hammock, pine flatwoods and wetlands, starts at the park's 12301 Burnt Store Road trailhead (Florida State Parks, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park brochure). That trailhead is about 2.3 road miles and 6 minutes from the community's map pin (OSRM public router). For a resident, it is the closest real walk in the woods.
The Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, 10941 Burnt Store Road, opens its trails dawn to dusk, seven days a week, and keeps office hours on weekdays (Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, About). It is about 8 minutes from the community's map pin (OSRM public router). The center is a nonprofit founded in 1987, and its programs include guided and full moon hikes, kayaking, bird watching, a butterfly garden, lectures and summer camps. Program fees were not available to us.
The Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area covers "over 80,700 acres", according to the state wildlife commission (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Babcock/Webb WMA history). Its Tucker Grade entrance is about 15 minutes from the community's map pin (OSRM public router). The commission lists hunting, fishing at Webb Lake, hiking and wildlife viewing, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, northern bobwhite and fox squirrels (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Babcock/Webb WMA). The daily use fee was not available to us; check the commission's area rules before you go.
Downtown Punta Gorda (City Hall) is 14 minutes and 8.2 road miles from 26000 Starling Boulevard on our community table (OSRM public router). The Harborwalk runs about three miles along the Peace River from Laishley Park to Fishermen's Village, according to the county tourism bureau, past the Military Heritage Museum, the Visual Arts Center and the historic murals (Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau, Harborwalk).
The bureau's downtown guide names John Ski's House of Breakfast and Lunch, Burg'r Bar and Winesett House for breakfast and brunch; Laishley Crab House, Carmelo's Italian Ristorante, Leroy's Southern Kitchen and Bar, The Perfect Caper, 88 Keys and Perch 360 for dinner; and TT's Tiki Bar, IceHouse Pub and unWined Wine and Beer Bar for evenings (Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau, Downtown Punta Gorda). We did not check each restaurant's current status, so treat the list as named by the bureau.
Fishermen's Village, the waterfront shopping and dining center at the end of the Harborwalk, sold in July 2026 for $43 million; its marina has not yet returned to full operation (Gulfshore Business, Fishermen's Village sold to local investors for $43 million). It is about 18 minutes from the community's map pin (OSRM public router).
The nearest restaurants we found from a primary source are at Safe Harbor Burnt Store, the marina about 7 road miles south. The operator lists two on-site restaurants, Cass Cay, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and The Trading Post (Safe Harbor Marinas, Safe Harbor Burnt Store). We found no restaurant on Burnt Store Road between the community and US 41 in a primary source.
The Downtown Punta Gorda Farmers Market meets Saturdays at 227 Taylor Street, year-round, with more than 80 vendors, from 8 a.m. to noon May to September and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. October to April (Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau, farmers and artisan markets). The History Park Market, 501 Shreve Street, meets Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with artisans and farm products in restored historic homes. Both are about 16 minutes from the community's map pin (OSRM public router).
The Punta Gorda Charlotte Library on Shreve Street is open Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Sunday (Charlotte County Libraries, hours). It is about 16 minutes from the community's map pin. The Mid-County Regional Library in Port Charlotte keeps longer evening hours on Wednesday and Thursday and is about 28 minutes away (OSRM public router).
The state park's paddle trails and the county's harbor parks are the community's water access. Public ramps at Laishley Park and Ponce de Leon Park in Punta Gorda charge no fee, according to the state's boating guide (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Charlotte Harbor boat ramps). Laishley Park is about 17 minutes and Ponce de Leon Park about 23 minutes from the community's map pin (OSRM public router).
Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte is the spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays, according to the county tourism bureau, and is about 36 minutes from the community's map pin (Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach Visitor and Convention Bureau, annual events; OSRM public router). The 2027 schedule was not available when we checked.
The Florida International Air Show is set for November 7 and 8, 2026, at Punta Gorda Airport (Florida Festivals and Events Association, 2026 Florida International Air Show). The airport is 13 minutes from 26000 Starling Boulevard on our community table. The bureau's annual list also includes the Sullivan Street Craft Festival, Taste of Punta Gorda and the Englewood Beach Waterfest; check each organizer for dates.
Esplanade at Starling's everyday life is split between what is inside the gate and what is a short drive away. Inside, the tennis and pickleball courts and the dog park are open now and the clubhouse, pool and bar are coming, according to the builder. Outside, the strongest draw is nature: a state park trailhead minutes away, an environmental center down the road and a wildlife management area to the east. Groceries and dining mean a drive north to US 41 or into downtown Punta Gorda. For the city these places belong to, see our Punta Gorda guide.
Esplanade at Starling is so new that none of its homes existed when Charley, Ian, Helene or Milton struck; every built home on the county roll dates from 2025. Charlotte County's evacuation zones split the community two ways: all 42 built homes sit in Zone D, while most of Arbor Circle and all of Adelie Way are Zone C.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Emergency Management Know Your Zone page; Charlotte County GIS storm surge evacuation zone, ownership and wind layers; National Hurricane Center tropical cyclone reports for Charley, Ian, Helene and Milton; Charlotte County flood information page; Charlotte County Property Appraiser roll dated September 27, 2026; Starling Community Development District records; all read October 2, 2026).
Charlotte County sorts its land into five evacuation zones, lettered A through E and colored red (A), orange (B), yellow (C), green (D) and purple (E) on the county's own map key (Charlotte County, Know Your Zone). Evacuation orders are issued by zone letter, so the letter attached to your address is the one that tells you when to leave.
The county is explicit that a zone letter is not a simple measure of how high a lot sits. Its page says "Evacuation Zones are not based solely on the elevation of your residence. The Zones are determined using data provided by the National Hurricane Center, elevation, and evacuation routes." It adds that "Storm surge does not correlate with the category of the storm," and tells residents not to base a decision to stay on the storm's category (Charlotte County, Know Your Zone). In practice, that means a Category 1 storm with a large surge can produce an order for your zone as readily as a stronger storm with a smaller one.
An evacuation zone and a flood zone are two different things, set by two different agencies for two different purposes. The evacuation letter comes from the county and governs when you are asked to leave ahead of storm surge. The flood zone comes from FEMA and governs flood insurance and building rules (see the flood section below). A lot in Esplanade at Starling can carry a flood zone of D and an evacuation zone of C at the same time, and many do.
Esplanade at Starling falls in two evacuation zones. We checked the center of all 457 parcels on the Starling plats against the county's evacuation zone layer: 239 are in Zone D and 218 in Zone C (Charlotte County GIS, storm surge evacuation zones layer; Charlotte County GIS, ownership layer; our analysis). Those 457 parcels are 407 platted homesites and 50 tracts such as lakes, roads and open space, so the count is not a count of houses. No parcel center falls in Zone B, even though a Zone B area lies inside the box we queried around the community.
Street | Zone C parcels | Zone D parcels |
|---|---|---|
Arbor Circle | 144 | 8 |
Blue Court | 32 | 35 |
Argus Place | 14 | 22 |
Adelie Way | 14 | 0 |
Starling Boulevard | 1 | 2 |
Victoria Place | 0 | 39 |
Dove Drive | 0 | 34 |
Dunlin Avenue | 0 | 19 |
Lark Court | 0 | 18 |
Robin Avenue | 0 | 15 |
Brent Lane | 0 | 14 |
Lake, lift station and other common tracts | 13 | 33 |
Total parcels | 218 | 239 |
Source: Charlotte County GIS, layer 34, every parcel center tested and sample points confirmed by direct query on October 2, 2026, our analysis. Parcels are counted by the street the county roll gives them.
The split runs by side of the community. The west and northwest side of Esplanade at Starling, closest to Burnt Store Road, carries the Zone C parcels: most of Arbor Circle, all of Adelie Way, part of Blue Court and part of Argus Place, plus the lake tract on the Burnt Store Road frontage. The east side, where Taylor Morrison built first, is Zone D: Victoria Place, Dove Drive, Dunlin Avenue, Lark Court, Robin Avenue and Brent Lane.
The 42 single-family homes on the county roll are all in Zone D: 16 on Victoria Place, 9 on Lark Court, 8 on Dove Drive, 7 on Dunlin Avenue and 2 on Robin Avenue (Charlotte County GIS, layer 34; Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). None of the homes the roll recognizes is in Zone C today.
That will change as building moves west. The Replat 1 streets, Arbor Circle, Blue Court, Argus Place and Adelie Way, carry most of the Zone C parcels, and the roll showed no finished home on any of them on September 27, 2026. A home built on Arbor Circle or Adelie Way will usually carry a different evacuation letter from a home on Victoria Place, so two buyers in the same gated community can receive different instructions in the same storm.
The county roll lags construction. Homes finished during 2026 may not yet carry a year built, so read the 42 as the homes the roll recognized on September 27, 2026, not as a count of every finished house.
The county's Know Your Zone page is the authority for any address. Look the address up before hurricane season, not during a watch, and write the letter down where everyone in the house can find it. A buyer comparing a homesite on Blue Court with one on Dunlin Avenue should check both: Blue Court alone splits 32 to 35 between the two letters.
The county also warns that "Since Charlotte County has very low elevation and is surrounded by water, it may not be possible to open any shelters in the County so make plans to evacuate to another area" (Charlotte County, Know Your Zone). Charlotte County Emergency Management issues the shelter list for each storm, so confirm it when a storm approaches rather than relying on an old list. A named evacuation route for the community itself: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The county's evacuation route map is the document that holds it.
The zoning for Esplanade at Starling allows one main entrance, from Burnt Store Road at Starling Boulevard, and an emergency-only access to the east that the district's engineer says will connect to Green Gulf Boulevard in the future (Charlotte County, PD-21-00010 ordinance; Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). The engineer's report puts it this way: "one (1) access point into the Starling community, the main entry off Burnt Store Road. There is a secondary emergency only access located on the far east side of the community that will connect to Green Gulf Blvd at a future time."
For an evacuation, that means every resident leaves by Burnt Store Road unless and until the eastern connection opens. Burnt Store Road in front of Esplanade at Starling is four lanes, according to the county's 2026 roadway level of service report (Charlotte County, 2026 Roadway Level of Service Data). From the Starling Boulevard end, Burnt Store Road reaches US 41 in about 4.7 road miles and I-75 at Jones Loop Road (exit 161) in about 7.8 road miles (our analysis, see the drive-time section). The gate itself has an emergency feature: the county's site plan conditions require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter).
Every home on the 2026 county roll with a year built is dated 2025 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The county approved the preliminary plat for Starling on October 11, 2022, about two weeks after Hurricane Ian, and the first plat was recorded in August 2024 (Charlotte County, PP-22-03-09 decision letter; Charlotte County GIS, subdivisions layer). So no Esplanade at Starling home existed during Charley (2004), Ian (2022), Helene or Milton (2024).
That cuts both ways. A buyer here is not buying a house that rode out those storms, and there is also no storm record for these houses to point to, good or bad. We found no county assessment, association notice or federal record describing conditions on the Starling land in any of the four storms, and we make no claim about storm effects there. We keyword-searched the district's posted minutes from 2024 through 2026 and found no hurricane, flood or drainage item in them (Starling Community Development District, meetings and documents index, read October 2, 2026). Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The National Hurricane Center's tropical cyclone reports describe storms at the scale of Punta Gorda and Charlotte County, not individual subdivisions. Punta Gorda is the nearest named place to Esplanade at Starling in those reports, and its airport weather station is the nearest official wind instrument.
Two measures appear in those reports, and they should not be compared number for number. Milton's 5 to 8 feet is "AGL," above ground level, a depth of water on land. Ian's 4.47 feet at Pirate Harbor is "above MHHW," above mean higher high water, a tide reference. The Pirate Harbor reading is the closest official measurement to the Starling land, and it is a reading at the harbor's edge, not on the community's lots.
A Florida house is designed for a wind speed set by the building code, and that speed is printed on the home's permitted plans. Charlotte County's public wind construction layer was compiled from state layers in April 2012 and, by its own description, has not been edited since, so it is not a reliable guide to the code edition that applied to a 2025 Esplanade at Starling permit (Charlotte County GIS, wind construction layer). We do not print a design wind speed for the community. The design wind speed for each home is on its county building permit, and the builder or the county building department can show it.
The same applies to the wind-borne debris region, the code's term for areas where windows and doors need impact protection or approved coverings. Whether a given permit treated the lot as inside that region is a question the plan set answers. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The county's public permit layers held no Starling records when we checked, so the permit file for the specific address is the place to look (Charlotte County GIS, new construction layer).
The zoning for Esplanade at Starling carries an unusual storm condition. It requires the clubhouse to be built to the county's highest wind loads and to serve as a post-storm refuge for residents, though not for all of them at once (Charlotte County, PD-21-00010 ordinance). That is a refuge after a storm passes, not a designated public shelter, and the ordinance itself says the building will not be able to hold every resident.
Two dates matter for a buyer here. Taylor Morrison lists The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027 (Taylor Morrison builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026), so the building is not available for the 2026 season. And how the association will operate a refuge, who opens it, when and on what terms, would sit in the association's rules once the clubhouse is conveyed. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
We found no builder specification sheet that lists the roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections, secondary water barrier or opening protection for Esplanade at Starling homes. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). For a new home, ask Taylor Morrison for the product approval numbers of the windows, doors and garage door, the roof covering specification and the signed plan set for your lot. For a resale, ask the seller for those documents and a wind mitigation inspection report, which is also what an insurer will want (see the insurance section below).
The Starling Community Development District's adopted fiscal year 2027 budget carries an insurance line of $6,200, down from $6,400 in the fiscal year 2026 budget, and we found no line for a hurricane or storm reserve in it (Starling Community Development District, adopted FY2027 and FY2026 budgets). That is district insurance on district property and operations, not a homeowner's policy. The district owns and maintains the stormwater system (see the flood section), so its storm readiness is a district question, and its budget and minutes are the documents to read each year.
Four practical points follow from the record. First, check the evacuation zone for the exact homesite, because Esplanade at Starling spans C and D and the split runs along streets you may be choosing between. Second, plan where you would go if your zone were ordered out, since shelters inside the county may not open. Third, remember there is one main way out, Burnt Store Road, until the eastern connection is built. Fourth, collect the house documents, the permit plan set, product approvals and a wind mitigation report, because those decide both how the house was built and what it costs to insure.
Buying in Esplanade at Starling? Marc can pull the evacuation zone and flood zone for any homesite you are considering before you tour. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers.
Every lot on the Esplanade at Starling plats is in FEMA flood zone D on the current map, panel 12015C0409G, effective December 15, 2022. Zone D is not a Special Flood Hazard Area on that map, and the map gives no Base Flood Elevation. Turnleaf's May 2026 map revision re-mapped the land next door; none covers Starling.
Data updated: October 2026 (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer flood hazard zone, FIRM panel, LOMR and LOMA layers; FEMA Letter of Map Revision 25-04-4878P determination document; Charlotte County GIS flood map layers; Starling Community Development District Master Engineer's Report; Charlotte County flood information page; FEMA FloodSmart; all queried or read October 2, 2026).
One FEMA flood insurance rate map panel covers the whole community: 12015C0409G, dated December 15, 2022, for Charlotte County unincorporated areas, FEMA community number 120061 (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, FIRM panels layer). On that panel, every Starling parcel is Zone D.
We tested the center of all 457 parcels on the Starling plats against FEMA's flood hazard layer. Every one returned Zone D. 456 fall in one large Zone D area that covers a wide stretch of land east of Burnt Store Road, well beyond the community, and one common tract on the north edge falls in a separate Zone D area inside the footprint of Turnleaf's 2026 map revision (described below) (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, flood hazard zones; our analysis). No parcel center returned any other zone. On FEMA's own attributes the Zone D area is flagged as not a Special Flood Hazard Area, and its Base Flood Elevation field is empty.
A single value for the whole corridor is not enough for a flood decision, so we queried FEMA directly at twelve points spread across both plats on October 2, 2026, one per street plus the two edges, and the county's evacuation layer at the same points. We name streets, not house numbers.
Location | Parcel type | FEMA zone | Base Flood Elevation | FIRM panel and effective date | FEMA map revision at the point | County evacuation zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dunlin Avenue | Built home | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Dove Drive | Home with a 2026 recorded sale | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Victoria Place | Built home | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Lark Court | Built home | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Robin Avenue | Built home | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Brent Lane | Home with a 2026 recorded sale | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Argus Place | Homesite with a 2026 recorded sale | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | D |
Blue Court | Homesite, no year built on the roll | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | C |
Arbor Circle | Homesite, no year built on the roll | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | C |
Adelie Way | Homesite, no year built on the roll | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | C |
Burnt Store Road frontage | Stormwater lake tract | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | None | C |
North edge | Common tract | D | None | 12015C0409G, Dec 15, 2022 | 25-04-4878P (Turnleaf), zone unchanged at the point | C |
Sources: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, flood hazard zones, FIRM panels and LOMRs; Charlotte County GIS, layer 34; one point query per location, October 2, 2026, our analysis.
The table shows the point plainly: across both plats, from the built east side to the replat streets on the west side and the Burnt Store Road frontage, the FEMA answer is the same. The evacuation letter is the column that changes.
The Zone D answer is not new. Charlotte County keeps copies of earlier FEMA maps in its GIS, and every one we checked shows the same land as Zone D: the older D-series panels (0133D, 0141D and 0142D), the 0409F panel in force before December 2022, the county's 2019 map layer with letters of map revision, the 2022 layer and the county's copy of the preliminary FEMA layer (Charlotte County GIS, FEMA map layers; Charlotte County GIS). The county's 2022 layer reads "SFHA OUT," "Floodway: OUT" and "BFE: See FIS" at the sample points.
So any flyer, appraisal or listing printed for an Esplanade at Starling home in the last several years should show Zone D. If a document shows a different letter for a Starling lot, ask where it came from, because the FEMA layer did not show one on October 2, 2026.
Zone D on this panel settles two things and leaves a third open. It settles that the land is not mapped as a Special Flood Hazard Area, the high-risk category whose zones start with A or V. And it settles that the map gives no Base Flood Elevation, the flood height that drives building elevation rules and flood rating in mapped high-risk zones.
What it leaves open is the hazard itself. Charlotte County's flood page describes the high-risk category this way: "High-risk areas (Special Flood Hazard Areas or SFHAs): Areas with a 1% annual chance of flooding (often called the "100-year flood"). Flood insurance is mandatory for federally backed mortgages here. These flood zones start with the letter A or the letter V" (Charlotte County, Flood Information). Zone D is outside that category on this map, but the map gives no flood elevation for it, so a buyer should not read Zone D as a statement about how much water a lot could see. FEMA's legend wording for Zone D on panel 12015C0409G: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The printed panel legend and the county's Flood Insurance Study are the documents that define it.
Next door, Turnleaf's May 2026 FEMA map revision moved former Zone D land to zones AE and X. No comparable FEMA revision covers any Starling lot as of October 2, 2026 (FEMA, LOMR 25-04-4878P determination; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, LOMR layer).
The revision, Letter of Map Revision 25-04-4878P, is titled "Turnleaf Phase 1 As-Built LOMR." FEMA issued it on January 7, 2026, and it took effect on May 27, 2026, following an earlier conditional case, 24-04-5164R. It rests on a culvert, excavation and a retention basin, with a one-dimensional hydraulic analysis, a hydrologic analysis and updated topographic data, and it annotated panels 12015C0409G and 12015C0407G without changing the county's Flood Insurance Study report (FEMA, LOMR 25-04-4878P determination). In plain terms, Turnleaf's developer built its lakes and drainage, surveyed the result, modeled how water moves through it, and FEMA re-mapped that land from the as-built record. FEMA published notice in The Daily Sun on January 20 and January 27, 2026.
The revision's footprint touches only the northern edge of the Starling plat, a common tract that stays Zone D. FEMA's letter-of-map-amendment layer returned no case anywhere inside the Starling plats, and the Starling district's engineer's report lists a county stormwater permit and a water management district permit but no FEMA map revision (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, LOMA layer; Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). Our Turnleaf guide explains what the revision did there, lot by lot.
The Turnleaf case shows the path a developer can take on Zone D land: build the drainage, submit the as-built record and ask FEMA to re-map. Whether anyone will do that for Starling is not stated in any record we read, and we make no prediction. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
If a revision were ever issued, it would not simply erase the Zone D label in one direction. At Turnleaf, the same revision put most land in Zone X and other land, including lake areas and some homesites, in Zone AE with Base Flood Elevations. A re-map assigns zones from the modeled water; it does not promise a better or worse letter in advance. Until FEMA issues something for Starling, Zone D on panel 12015C0409G is the flood zone for every lot.
The lakes in Esplanade at Starling are stormwater lakes, part of a system the Starling Community Development District finances, owns, operates and maintains. The district's engineer describes it in these words: "The stormwater collection and outfall system are a combination of roadway curbs, curb inlets, pipe, control structures, and open lakes designed to treat and attenuate stormwater runoff from District lands." The report adds that "The District will finance, own, operate, and maintain the stormwater system, with the exception of the inlets and storm sewer systems that may be part of dedicated rights-of-way" (Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, January 2024, revised April 2024, in the May 1, 2024 agenda).
The system is permitted under Charlotte County stormwater permit SWP-23-00007 and Southwest Florida Water Management District Environmental Resource Permit 43030937.004 (same report). The report also says "No private earthwork is included in the CIP," so the district does not pay for grading individual lots or hauling fill to them; lot grading is the builder's work. The district's plan also includes on-site conservation areas to offset wetland impacts.
The design storm, lake control elevations, minimum finished floor and road elevations, and the receiving water for the outfall are not in any record we read. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The water management district permit file and the county permit plans are the documents that hold them. Many homesites back onto stormwater lakes; the builder's homesite map, not the county's waterfront flag, shows which. Rules on using the lakes, such as fishing, boats or docks, would sit in the recorded Declaration, which was not available to us. The Declaration controls.
The county's 2022 FEMA layer reads "Outside of CBRA Zone" at the Starling sample points, so the community is not in a mapped Coastal Barrier Resources System unit on that layer (Charlotte County GIS, FEMA 2022 layer). That matters because federal flood insurance is restricted for new construction inside those units.
FEMA's map tells you the zone a piece of ground is in. A lender's decision rests on a flood zone determination for the building's location, and for flood rating the house's own elevation matters. The document that records it is the elevation certificate, which states the lowest floor against the relevant flood reference.
The county's elevation certificate layer returned no records inside the Starling plats when we checked, and we found no elevation certificate for a Starling address in the public records we searched (Charlotte County GIS, elevation certificate layer). Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The county runs a flood lookup portal that holds elevation certificates as they are filed (Charlotte County, Forerunner flood portal). FEMA notes that "Elevation certificates aren't required to get flood insurance, but they can help you pay less" (FEMA FloodSmart, flood insurance cost). Ask the builder for the elevation certificate on a new home, and ask the seller for it on a resale.
The federal rule turns on the high-risk zones. FEMA states it directly: "If you own a property in a high-risk zone and have a government-backed mortgage, you must purchase flood insurance" (FEMA FloodSmart, What Is My Flood Risk). High-risk zones are those beginning with A or V. Esplanade at Starling's lots are Zone D, so the federal mandate does not apply by zone alone.
A lender can still require flood coverage. FEMA's eligibility page says "Some banks require flood insurance even if you don't live in a high-risk area" (FEMA FloodSmart, eligibility). And FEMA reports that from 2014 to 2024, "nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside high-risk flood areas" (FEMA FloodSmart, What Is My Flood Risk). Citizens Property Insurance has its own flood rule, which reaches all of its personal residential policies with wind coverage from January 1, 2027 (see the insurance section).
Selling an Esplanade at Starling home? Buyers will ask about Zone D and Turnleaf's revision next door, so we explain both plainly in your marketing. What is your Esplanade at Starling home worth? Call or text (239) 898-6072.
Insurance in Esplanade at Starling follows the Florida pattern: a homeowners policy that covers wind, a separate flood policy if a lender or Citizens requires one or you choose one, and wind mitigation credits that depend on how the home was built. Every Esplanade at Starling roof dates from 2025 or later, and no public record gives a premium.
Data updated: October 2026 (Florida Statutes sections 627.7011, 627.0629, 627.711, 627.351 and 215.5586; Citizens Property Insurance wind mitigation page; FEMA FloodSmart; Charlotte County flood information page; Charlotte County Property Appraiser roll dated September 27, 2026; all read October 2, 2026).
Nobody can tell you what an Esplanade at Starling home costs to insure from the community's name. A premium depends on the house, its construction features, its flood zone and elevation, the carrier, the year, the deductibles and your own claims history. We obtained no quotes, and no public record gives a figure for a Starling home. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
What the public record does show is the structure of the decision, and several parts of it favor a new home. Every home with a year built on the county roll is dated 2025, so every roof is new (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Each home's wind design is printed on its county building permit, where an insurer's inspector can read it. And every lot is outside the Special Flood Hazard Area on the current map, which keeps the federal flood mandate from applying by zone alone.
Florida law protects owners of newer roofs. An insurer "may not refuse to issue or refuse to renew a homeowner's policy insuring a residential structure with a roof that is less than 15 years old solely because of the age of the roof" (Florida Statutes, section 627.7011). For a roof at least 15 years old, the statute requires the insurer to allow the homeowner a roof inspection by an authorized inspector, at the homeowner's expense, before it requires replacement.
For Esplanade at Starling, where every roof on the roll dates from 2025 or later, that 15-year protection runs to about 2040 for the earliest roofs. The statute protects against refusal based on age alone; it does not set a price.
Florida requires insurers to reward construction that resists wind. Residential rate filings "must include actuarially reasonable discounts, credits, or other rate differentials, or appropriate reductions in deductibles, for properties on which fixtures or construction techniques demonstrated to reduce the amount of loss in a windstorm have been installed." The features named include "roof strength, roof covering performance, roof-to-wall strength, wall-to-floor-to-foundation strength, opening protection, and window, door, and skylight strength," and credits for features that meet the minimum requirements of the Florida Building Code must be included in the rate filing (Florida Statutes, section 627.0629). Since October 1, 2023, insurers must also describe the hurricane mitigation discounts they offer on their websites (same statute).
A second statute makes the notice personal. Insurers must tell policyholders about available mitigation discounts at issuance and at renewal, and the features are documented on a uniform mitigation verification inspection form set by state rule (Florida Statutes, section 627.711). Citizens puts the practical point this way: "Documenting the presence of qualifying mitigation features on your home through a wind mitigation inspection may save you money by helping you qualify for mitigation discounts on your insurance policy" (Citizens Property Insurance, Wind Mitigation Inspections).
The credits are not automatic. On a new Esplanade at Starling home, schedule the wind mitigation inspection before you bind the policy, give the inspector the plan set and product approvals, and keep a copy of the form for when you sell. The discount amount for any specific home: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Citizens Property Insurance now requires flood coverage on homes with a dwelling replacement cost of $400,000 or more, and from 2027 on all of its personal residential policies. Under Florida law, Citizens "shall require the securing and maintaining of flood insurance as a condition of coverage of a personal lines residential risk," phased in for homes outside the Special Flood Hazard Area by dwelling replacement cost: $600,000 or more for policies effective on or after January 1, 2024; $500,000 or more from January 1, 2025; $400,000 or more from January 1, 2026; and "all other personal lines residential property insured by the corporation" from January 1, 2027 (Florida Statutes, section 627.351).
For Esplanade at Starling, the practical meaning is direct. A Zone D home insured with Citizens needs flood coverage now if its dwelling replacement cost is $400,000 or more, and needs it whatever its value for policies effective on or after January 1, 2027. The rule turns on replacement cost, not sale price, but the recorded prices show how many homes sit in that range: of the 48 recorded sales from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, 32 were at $500,000 or more and 3 more were between $400,000 and $499,999 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Ask your insurance agent for the dwelling replacement cost on any quote, because that is the number the statute uses.
A separate Citizens rule turns on value and location. The statute says a personal lines residential structure "that is located in the 'wind-borne debris region'" and "that has an insured value on the structure of $750,000 or more is not eligible for coverage by the corporation unless the structure has opening protections as required under the Florida Building Code for a newly constructed residential" structure (Florida Statutes, section 627.351).
Four of the 48 recorded sales in the past 12 months were at $800,000 or more, so the rule is relevant at the top of the Esplanade at Starling market (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Whether a given home was permitted inside the wind-borne debris region is on its plan set, so a buyer of a higher-value home who may need Citizens should confirm the opening protection in writing before closing.
FEMA is plain about it: "Most homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage" (FEMA FloodSmart). Wind and flood are separate perils in Florida, written on separate policies. A National Flood Insurance Program policy for a home covers the building up to $250,000 and contents up to $100,000, and FEMA says rates do not differ by which company sells the federal policy (FEMA FloodSmart, Buy a Policy). Private flood carriers may offer other limits.
FEMA summarizes what sets a federal flood rate in one line: "Three things determine your flood insurance rate: where your property is built, how it's built and what it would cost to replace it" (FEMA FloodSmart, Buy a Policy). For a new Starling home, all three are documented somewhere: the flood zone on the map, the construction and elevation in the permit file and elevation certificate, and the replacement cost in the quote.
A National Flood Insurance Program policy usually starts 30 days after purchase. FEMA lists exceptions, and the one that matters most here is this: "There is no wait if you buy flood insurance while making, increasing, extending or renewing a mortgage" (FEMA FloodSmart, Buy a Policy).
For a buyer financing an Esplanade at Starling home at a builder closing, the mortgage exception usually removes the wait. For an owner who decides to add flood coverage later, the 30-day wait matters in hurricane season, because a policy bought when a storm is already on the map will not start in time.
The state's My Safe Florida Home program offers wind mitigation inspections and grants, but its grant rules require that "The home must have been built before January 1, 2008, as reflected on the county property appraiser's website" (Florida Statutes, section 215.5586; My Safe Florida Home). The state's My Safe Florida Home grants require a home built before January 1, 2008, so homes here do not meet that test. The mitigation credits under section 627.0629 still apply, because they come from the insurer's rate filing, not from a grant.
Charlotte County takes part in the National Flood Insurance Program as community 120061 (FEMA, LOMR 25-04-4878P determination). The county's current Community Rating System class and the discount it carries: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). FEMA's community rating list is the document that states it, and the discount on any one policy depends on the policy.
Ask your insurance agent whether the carrier credits the home's construction features, and get the answer in the quote. Homeowners and flood premiums, carriers and deductibles for Esplanade at Starling homes: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Buying new construction in Esplanade at Starling? Our Punta Gorda new construction guide explains what to ask a builder before you sign. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
Esplanade at Starling is zoned to East Elementary, Punta Gorda Middle and Charlotte High, all in Charlotte County Public Schools. The district's Boundary Locator returned that trio for all six Esplanade at Starling addresses we checked, on six streets, on October 2, 2026. The state's 2026 school grades are B, A and B, and the district earned an A.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Public Schools Boundary Locator; Florida Department of Education 2026 school grades, report card data and results packet; Florida Department of Education five-year district facilities work plan; OSRM routing estimates; all queried or read October 2, 2026).
We ran six Esplanade at Starling addresses through the lookup service behind the district's public Boundary Locator (Charlotte County Public Schools, Boundary Locator service). The addresses came from the county's address point layer and cover the built east side and the newer west side of the plats. We do not print house numbers.
Street | Addresses checked | Elementary | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Victoria Place | 1 | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
Lark Court | 1 | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
Dunlin Avenue | 1 | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
Dove Drive | 1 | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
Arbor Circle | 1 | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
Brent Lane | 1 | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
We found no split inside the community: every address returned the same three schools.
Two controls run the same day show the result is specific to the address, not a default. A made-up address in ZIP 33955 returned no schools at all, and the district office's own Port Charlotte address returned a different set, Liberty Elementary, Murdock Middle and Port Charlotte High (Charlotte County Public Schools, Boundary Locator service). So the six Starling results are the locator's answer for those streets.
The locator answers only for addresses already in the district's file. If you are buying a homesite or a home under construction on a street with few finished houses, the locator may not recognize the new address yet. Run it again after the address is assigned. The district itself says the locator "is only a guide, please call the school indicated to confirm that your child will attend that school" (Charlotte County Public Schools, Boundary Locator).
The district's lookup service returns these addresses for the three schools (Charlotte County Public Schools, Boundary Locator service):
The state's report card base file lists 742 students at East Elementary, 1,166 at Punta Gorda Middle and 1,905 at Charlotte High for the 2025-26 school year, and marks East Elementary as a Title I school; none of the three is a charter school (Florida Department of Education, school report cards).
The Florida Department of Education released its 2026 school grades on September 8, 2026. They give the three assigned schools a B, an A and a B, and Charlotte County as a district earned an A; the state's results packet shows the district with 10 A schools, 8 B schools and 2 C schools (Florida Department of Education, 2026 School Grades Results Packet; Florida Department of Education, School Grades).
School | 2026 grade | Percent of total possible points, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
East Elementary | B | 56 |
Punta Gorda Middle | A | 64 |
Charlotte High | B | 63 |
Charlotte County School District | A | n/a |
Sources: Florida Department of Education, 2026 School Grades Results Packet; Florida Department of Education, school report card data.
The state changed its grading scale in 2026 and published an overview of the changes alongside the grades (Florida Department of Education, School Grades). So a 2026 letter should not be compared with an earlier year's letter as if the scale were the same. Read the component scores below, which show what each school did well and less well this year.
The state grade is built from components. These are the 2026 percentages the state reports for each school (Florida Department of Education, school report card components).
Component (percent) | East Elementary | Punta Gorda Middle | Charlotte High |
|---|---|---|---|
English language arts achievement | 61 | 61 | 56 |
English language arts learning gains | 55 | 64 | 55 |
English language arts gains, lowest 25 percent | 38 | 58 | 56 |
Math achievement | 66 | 67 | 46 |
Math learning gains | 60 | 62 | 51 |
Math gains, lowest 25 percent | 55 | 64 | 50 |
Science achievement | 48 | 55 | 76 |
Social studies achievement | n/a | 71 | 79 |
Middle school acceleration | n/a | 75 | n/a |
College and career acceleration | n/a | n/a | 69 |
Graduation rate | n/a | n/a | 95 |
Charlotte High's graduation rate component of 95 and its science and social studies scores stand out, and its math achievement is its lowest component. At East Elementary, math achievement at 66 leads, while English language arts gains among the lowest-performing quarter of students, at 38, trail the other components. Punta Gorda Middle posts its strongest numbers in middle school acceleration and social studies. A single year is a snapshot, so ask each school about its plans for the components that matter to your child.
The assigned schools are north of the community, in or near central Punta Gorda. We measured the drives from 26000 Starling Boulevard, the county address point at the Burnt Store Road end, with the OSRM routing engine, free-flow, no traffic (OSRM; our analysis, October 2, 2026).
School | Drive (minutes) | Road miles |
|---|---|---|
Charlotte High School | 14 | 8.1 |
Punta Gorda Middle School | 16 | 8.3 |
East Elementary School | 17 | 10.6 |
From homes on Victoria Place, add about 2 to 3 minutes. School-day traffic will add more, especially near the Punta Gorda campuses at the start and end of the day, and on Burnt Store Road during season.
School bus stops and eligibility for Esplanade at Starling addresses: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The district's transportation portal did not return a public result for a Starling address when we checked (Charlotte County Public Schools, Bus Stop Locator). Stops change each school year, so run the address through the portal every summer, and ask the district's transportation office if a new street does not appear.
The district runs controlled open enrollment, its school choice program, alongside the attendance zones (Charlotte County Public Schools, Boundary Locator and site map). Admission to a school outside your zone runs through the district's application process, so treat the zoned trio as the default and choice as a separate decision with its own rules and transportation terms.
The district's five-year facilities work plan, adopted in 2025, lists no new school (Florida Department of Education, Charlotte County Five-Year District Facilities Work Plan). We also found no public school site within about two miles of the community in the county's institutional and petition layers (Charlotte County GIS, institutional layer; Charlotte County GIS, petitions layer). With thousands of homes entitled along the Burnt Store Road corridor, the district's later work plans are the documents to watch.
We ran six addresses on six streets, not every homesite, and attendance zones can change between school years. Before you write an offer that depends on a school, run the exact address through the district's Boundary Locator yourself, and call the school. If a listing or a builder flyer shows different schools, the district's locator is the answer.
Buying in Esplanade at Starling with school-age children? Marc can run your target addresses through the locator with you before you tour. Read how we help buyers in Punta Gorda, or call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
Punta Gorda has no open hospital, so the nearest hospitals to Esplanade at Starling are in Port Charlotte: HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital and AdventHealth Port Charlotte, both about 23 minutes by road. The community is in the response zone of Charlotte County Fire Rescue Station 5 on Burnt Store Road, and Station 17 is under construction.
Data updated: October 2026 (HCA Florida Healthcare; AdventHealth; Lee Health; Tampa General Hospital; Florida Agency for Health Care Administration FloridaHealthFinder; Charlotte County GIS fire response zone and fire station layers; Charlotte County Fire Station 17 project page; OSRM routing estimates; all read or computed October 2, 2026).
We measured each drive from 26000 Starling Boulevard, the county address point at the Burnt Store Road end of the community, with the OSRM routing engine, free-flow, no traffic (OSRM; our analysis, October 2, 2026). From homes on Victoria Place, add about 2 to 3 minutes.
Facility | What it is | Drive (minutes) | Road miles |
|---|---|---|---|
HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital, 21298 Olean Blvd, Port Charlotte | Hospital, 24/7 emergency department | 23 | 13.0 |
AdventHealth Port Charlotte, 2500 Harbor Blvd, Port Charlotte | Hospital, open 24/7 with emergency care | 23 | 13.1 |
Lee Health Cape Coral Hospital, Cape Coral | Hospital | 31 | 19.7 |
Lee Health Lee Memorial Hospital, Fort Myers | Hospital | 33 | 22.5 |
TGH Urgent Care Powered by Fast Track, Babcock Ranch | Urgent care, open daily 8 am to 8 pm | 37 | 27.3 |
Lee Health Gulf Coast Medical Center, Fort Myers | Hospital | 45 | 28.8 |
Lee Health HealthPark Medical Center campus, Fort Myers | Hospital campus that includes Golisano Children's Hospital | 50 | 32.5 |
Sources: HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital; AdventHealth Port Charlotte; Lee Health, locations; Tampa General Hospital, TGH Urgent Care Babcock Ranch; OSRM.
Method: estimated drive times from 26000 Starling Boulevard (county address point at the Burnt Store Road end), OSRM free-flow routing, no traffic (our analysis, October 2, 2026). Add time for traffic, signals and season. We list Lee Health hospitals by name and city only; confirm the campus address on Lee Health's own site before you plan a trip.
Punta Gorda has no open hospital; the nearest are in Port Charlotte (Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, FloridaHealthFinder). Older county maps and directories may still show a hospital in Punta Gorda under an earlier name. Use the state's licensing search, not an old map, when you plan where you would go in an emergency.
From Esplanade at Starling, the two Port Charlotte hospitals are about the same distance, 13.0 and 13.1 road miles. Both sit across the Peace River in Port Charlotte, so both trips start north on Burnt Store Road.
HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital lists a 24/7 emergency department, a Primary Stroke Center, cardiovascular surgery, an orthopedic and spine program and inpatient oncology (HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital). AdventHealth describes its Port Charlotte hospital, formerly ShorePoint Health Port Charlotte, as open 24/7, with heart and vascular care, orthopedics, neurosurgery, obstetrics and robotic surgery among its services (AdventHealth Port Charlotte).
AdventHealth announced a freestanding emergency department at Jones Loop Road and Mac Ever Street in September 2025; no opening date has been published (AdventHealth newsroom, September 5, 2025). The announcement describes a 24/7 emergency department near I-75, managed by AdventHealth Port Charlotte. Its construction status and opening date: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
When it opens, it would sit near the Jones Loop Road interchange, which Esplanade at Starling reaches in about 13 minutes by Burnt Store Road (see the drive-time section). An emergency department is not a hospital, and serious cases may still be transferred to a full hospital, so keep both answers in your plan.
For specialty care that the Port Charlotte hospitals refer out, many Esplanade at Starling residents will look south to Lee Health. Lee Health lists Cape Coral Hospital, Lee Memorial Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center and the HealthPark Medical Center campus, which includes Golisano Children's Hospital, among its locations (Lee Health, locations). From the community, Cape Coral Hospital is about 31 minutes, Gulf Coast Medical Center about 45 minutes and HealthPark about 50 minutes (our analysis, OSRM). For an emergency transport, the hospital is not chosen by the closest address alone, so know which hospitals your plan covers in both directions.
The nearest urgent care we could confirm is TGH Urgent Care Powered by Fast Track at Babcock Ranch, open daily from 8 am to 8 pm, about 37 minutes and 27.3 road miles away (Tampa General Hospital, TGH Urgent Care Babcock Ranch). No closer urgent care was confirmed on Burnt Store Road or US 41 in the records we read. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Independent clinics open and close often, so search your insurer's directory for current options near Burnt Store Road and US 41.
Starling is in the response zone of Charlotte County Fire Rescue Station 5, 15200 Burnt Store Road (Charlotte County GIS, fire response zones layer; Charlotte County GIS, fire stations layer). Station 17, at 11711 Tamiami Trail, is under construction with a forecast completion of March 2027 (Charlotte County, Fire Station 17). Which station is dispatched to a given call is set by the county's dispatch system, and we do not state it.
If you or someone in your household needs regular specialist visits, map the actual trips before you buy: the drive to your doctors, your pharmacy and the hospital your plan covers. From Esplanade at Starling, Port Charlotte is the hospital town, about 23 minutes north, and Fort Myers is the town for Lee Health's larger campuses, about 33 to 50 minutes south. Check your insurance network for both directions, because hospital choice in this corner of Charlotte County often crosses into Lee County.
Buying in Esplanade at Starling? We help buyers weigh drive times to the places that matter to them. Read how we represent buyers, or call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
From Esplanade at Starling, Punta Gorda Airport is about 13 minutes and downtown Punta Gorda about 14 minutes in free-flow driving. Cape Coral City Hall is about 29 minutes, Fort Myers City Hall 31 and Southwest Florida International Airport 47. The nearest Gulf beach, Englewood Beach at Chadwick Park, is about 55 minutes away by road.
Data updated: October 2026 (OSRM routing engine on OpenStreetMap data, free-flow, origin 26000 Starling Boulevard from the Charlotte County address point layer; computed October 2, 2026).
Destination | Minutes | Road miles |
|---|---|---|
Punta Gorda Airport (PGD) | 13 | 7.8 |
Downtown Punta Gorda (City Hall) | 14 | 8.2 |
Charlotte High School | 14 | 8.1 |
Punta Gorda Middle School | 16 | 8.3 |
East Elementary School | 17 | 10.6 |
HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital | 23 | 13.0 |
AdventHealth Port Charlotte | 23 | 13.1 |
Port Charlotte Beach Park (harbor beach) | 26 | 13.3 |
Cape Coral (City Hall) | 29 | 18.7 |
Fort Myers (City Hall) | 31 | 21.7 |
Cape Coral Hospital | 31 | 19.7 |
Port Charlotte Town Center | 32 | 16.9 |
TGH Urgent Care, Babcock Ranch | 37 | 27.3 |
Babcock Ranch (town center, 42880 Crescent Loop) | 39 | 28.7 |
Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) | 47 | 37.2 |
Englewood Beach (Chadwick Park, Gulf beach) | 55 | 33.9 |
Fort Myers Beach (Lynn Hall Park) | 57 | 34.5 |
Sarasota (City Hall) | 74 | 61.4 |
Estimated drive times from 26000 Starling Boulevard (county address point at the Burnt Store Road end), OSRM free-flow routing, no traffic (our analysis, October 2, 2026). From homes on Victoria Place, add about 2 to 3 minutes.
Source: OSRM routing engine; origin from the Charlotte County GIS address point layer.
Free-flow means an empty road: no season traffic, no waits at signals, no crashes and no time at the gate. Treat every figure as the best case. In winter season, or with an incident on I-75, US 41 or Burnt Store Road, trips will run longer. Traffic-adjusted times: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Each city row uses its city hall as the destination, so "Fort Myers" means Fort Myers City Hall downtown, not the edge of the city, and "Babcock Ranch" means the town center at 42880 Crescent Loop. The origin is the county's address point at the Burnt Store Road end of Starling Boulevard. Homes deeper in the community, on Victoria Place, Lark Court or Robin Avenue, add a few minutes of driving inside the gate.
Three measured points explain most trips out of Esplanade at Starling. From the same origin, Burnt Store Road meets US 41 in about 4.7 road miles (7 minutes); I-75 at Jones Loop Road (exit 161) is about 7.8 road miles (13 minutes); and the Lee County line on Burnt Store Road is about 5.6 road miles (7 minutes) (OSRM; our analysis, October 2, 2026). The county line matters more than it sounds: the marina, Cape Coral and much of the shopping south of the community sit in Lee County.
Every trip out of Esplanade at Starling starts on Burnt Store Road, County Road 765, because the community has one main entrance. North, Burnt Store Road leads to Punta Gorda, the airport and I-75. South, it leads into Lee County and Cape Coral. For Southwest Florida International Airport and Babcock Ranch, the router sends you north about 2.3 miles on Burnt Store Road, east on Notre Dame Boulevard for about 2.0 miles, a short stretch of US 41 and then County Road 762 to reach I-75 (OSRM; our analysis).
That makes Burnt Store Road the road to watch. The county's 2026 level of service report puts the segment in front of the community, Zemel Road to Notre Dame Boulevard, at four lanes with a 2026 average annual daily traffic count of 20,346, operating at level of service C and 53 percent of capacity (Charlotte County, 2026 Roadway Level of Service Data). The county's plans for a new east-west connector between Burnt Store Road and US 41 are unfunded (see the next section).
Punta Gorda Airport is 7.8 road miles and about 13 minutes away, the shortest trip in the table, by way of Burnt Store Road, County Road 768 and Piper Road. Downtown Punta Gorda's City Hall is 8.2 miles and about 14 minutes, by Burnt Store Road for about 4.4 miles and then US 41 north (OSRM; our analysis). Our Punta Gorda guide covers the city itself, from the Harborwalk to the Saturday market.
Port Charlotte Town Center is 16.9 miles and about 32 minutes, across the Peace River. The two Port Charlotte hospitals are closer than the mall, at about 23 minutes each. Sarasota City Hall is about 74 minutes, by County Road 768 and I-75 north. We print only measured times, whatever a marketing page says.
Cape Coral City Hall is 18.7 miles and about 29 minutes south, most of it on Burnt Store Road into Lee County. Fort Myers City Hall is 21.7 miles and about 31 minutes, and Southwest Florida International Airport is 37.2 miles and about 47 minutes by way of I-75 (OSRM; our analysis). For travelers, that makes Punta Gorda Airport the 13-minute choice and RSW the roughly 47-minute choice.
The Florida Department of Transportation has finished the study phase for widening Burnt Store Road in Lee County, from Van Buren Parkway to the Charlotte County line, from two lanes to a four-lane divided road that can expand to six; its location and design concept was accepted on August 5, 2025 (Florida Department of Transportation District One, Burnt Store Road PD&E, 436928-1). A construction date: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Babcock Ranch's town center is 28.7 road miles and about 39 minutes from Esplanade at Starling. No road crosses directly east, so the route goes to I-75 by way of Notre Dame Boulevard and County Road 762, then about 14 miles on I-75, then State Road 78 and State Road 31 (OSRM; our analysis). Any comparison of the two communities should use that road time and name the destination point. Our Babcock Ranch guide covers that community.
Esplanade at Starling is not a beach community. The nearest public water's-edge park is Port Charlotte Beach Park on Charlotte Harbor, 13.3 road miles and about 26 minutes away; it is a harbor park, not a Gulf beach. The nearest Gulf beach, Englewood Beach at Chadwick Park, is 33.9 miles and about 55 minutes, and Fort Myers Beach at Lynn Hall Park is 34.5 miles and about 57 minutes (OSRM; our analysis).
Measured from a different origin, the community's map pin near the middle of the plats, Stump Pass Beach State Park and Gasparilla Island State Park are each about 62 minutes away, and Sanibel about 72 minutes plus a causeway toll the router does not price (OSRM; our analysis). Both state parks charge $3 per vehicle (Florida State Parks, Stump Pass Beach State Park; Florida State Parks, Gasparilla Island State Park). Anyone who expects a short beach trip should measure it, because the Gulf beach drives from here run close to an hour.
For everyday destinations we also have drive times from the community's map pin, near the middle of the plats, measured the same way. We keep them in prose so they are never mixed with the table above, which uses the Burnt Store Road end of Starling Boulevard.
From the map pin, the Old Datsun Trail trailhead at Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, 12301 Burnt Store Road, is about 2.3 road miles and 6 minutes; the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center at Alligator Creek, 10941 Burnt Store Road, about 8 minutes; and the Publix at Burnt Store Marketplace, 3941 Tamiami Trail, the nearest full grocery, about 5.0 miles and 11 minutes (OSRM; our analysis; Florida State Parks, Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park; Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center; Publix, Burnt Store Marketplace). The Tucker Grade entrance of the Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area is about 15 minutes (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Babcock/Webb history).
Downtown errands from the same pin run about 16 to 18 minutes: the Saturday farmers market on Taylor Street and History Park on Shreve Street about 16 minutes, Laishley Park about 17 and Fishermen's Village about 18 (our analysis, OSRM). The Mid-County Regional Library in Port Charlotte is about 28 minutes, and Charlotte Sports Park on El Jobean Road about 36.
The nearest full-service marina is Safe Harbor Burnt Store, in Lee County with a Punta Gorda address, about 7 road miles south, measured by road from the community's amenity site (Safe Harbor Burnt Store; our analysis, OSRM); our Burnt Store Marina guide covers that neighborhood.
Esplanade at Starling works well for Punta Gorda errands and air travel from Punta Gorda Airport, with both inside about 14 minutes, and for Cape Coral and Fort Myers to the south, both around half an hour. It asks for longer drives to the Gulf beaches, Sarasota and Southwest Florida International Airport. Every trip depends on Burnt Store Road, so a buyer who commutes at peak hours should drive the route at the time they would use it before committing.
Selling an Esplanade at Starling home? Distance sells when it is stated precisely. We market the measured drive: about 13 minutes to Punta Gorda Airport and 14 to downtown Punta Gorda. What is your Esplanade at Starling home worth? Call or text (239) 898-6072.
Esplanade at Starling sits in a corridor of planned communities on Burnt Store Road. Directly south, a planned development of up to 999 homes and 195,000 square feet of commercial space awaits a County Commission decision. The Tuckers Grade Extension has an adopted route but no funding, and depends on the November 3, 2026 sales tax vote.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board agenda of April 13, 2026; Charlotte County GIS petitions and subdivisions layers; Charlotte County Burnt Store Area Plan presentation of June 11, 2024; Charlotte County 2026 Roadway Level of Service Data; Charlotte County project pages and 2026 sales tax project sheets; Charlotte County Utilities quarterly updates; Florida Department of Education facilities work plan; all read October 2, 2026).
Most of what will be built next to an Esplanade at Starling home over the next several years is more Esplanade at Starling. The county's January 2025 approval plans the community as 774 single-family homesites in three phases, and the zoning allows up to 1,440 homes (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171 decision letter; Charlotte County, PD-21-00010 ordinance). Today 407 homesites are platted. A Phase 2 site plan of 131 single-family lots was approved in 2025, and no Phase 2 plat was recorded as of October 2, 2026; a third phase is planned (Charlotte County, DRC-24-224 decision letter; Charlotte County GIS, subdivisions layer).
Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc still owns most of the parcels on the September 27, 2026 roll (Charlotte County GIS, ownership layer; our analysis). In practice that means construction traffic, new streets and model activity inside the gate for years, and an amenity center still being finished: Taylor Morrison lists the pool as coming soon, the Bahama Bar as planned and The Venue clubhouse as slated for early 2027 (Taylor Morrison builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
Esplanade at Starling is one of a cluster of planned communities on the Burnt Store Road corridor south of Punta Gorda. Each has its own plat, and most have their own community development district. The county's petition and subdivision layers place them as follows (Charlotte County GIS, petitions layer; Charlotte County GIS, subdivisions layer).
Community | Direction from Esplanade at Starling | What the county records show |
|---|---|---|
Turnleaf | North, directly adjoining | Its own plats (recorded 2024 and 2025), Phase 1B and Phase 2A plats in review, and its own Coral Creek Community Development District |
Coral Lakes | North, east side of Burnt Store Road | Its own plats (recorded 2024 and 2026) and its own Coral Lakes Community Development District |
Cassia Bay (formerly Crosswinds) | North, east side of Burnt Store Road | A plat recorded in 2026 |
Heritage Landing | West, across Burnt Store Road | The former Tern Bay development of regional impact, with golf; condominium and plat records from 2019 to 2025 and a Phase III plat |
Heritage Station | South, west side of Burnt Store Road | Plats recorded in 2023 and 2026 |
Firelight (formerly Eagle Creek) | South | A preliminary plat approved for Firelight, Phase I, and a renamed district |
Residences at Burnt Store East | South | A preliminary plat approved by the County Commission and its own district petition |
Willow | Northeast, east of US 41 | Its own plats and its own Tuckers Pointe Community Development District |
Sources: Charlotte County GIS, petitions layer; Charlotte County GIS, subdivisions layer, read October 2, 2026.
Two points prevent confusion. Turnleaf, directly north, is a separate master plan with its own district (Coral Creek CDD), and Coral Lakes is another separate community with its own district, despite the similar names. And Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club across Burnt Store Road is not part of Esplanade at Starling. Our guides to Turnleaf, Heritage Landing and Willow cover three of these neighbors in detail.
Directly south, a planned development of up to 999 homes and 195,000 square feet of commercial space won a 3-0 recommendation from the county's Planning and Zoning Board on April 13, 2026; a County Commission decision was not found in the record as of October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board agenda, April 13, 2026). The county's petition layer still listed PD-25-13 as in review on October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County GIS, petitions layer).
The agenda describes the request in its own terms: rezoning about 265 acres of planned development and 12.55 acres of commercial general land to a single planned development, "in order to have a mixture of residential uses up to 999 residential units and commercial uses up to 195,000 square feet," and "requiring transfer of density of units for residential development above the base density of 26 units." The property is 11 parcels on Burnt Store Road and Zemel Road, about 277.55 acres, within the Burnt Store Area Plan (Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board agenda, April 13, 2026).
A Planning and Zoning recommendation is not a building permit, and a commercial entitlement is not a store. We found no tenant, site plan for a store or opening date tied to this petition. The County Commission's decision: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). For an Esplanade at Starling owner, this is the single nearest change to watch, because it would put new homes and commercial land on the community's south side.
Commercial space exists on paper along the corridor far more than on the ground. The county counted 511,500 square feet of commercial space entitled through planned development approvals in the Burnt Store Area Plan in June 2024, plus land already zoned commercial general (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan presentation, June 11, 2024). For the parcels near Esplanade at Starling, we found no tenant, building permit or opening date. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The county itself has studied the question. The same presentation projects that "By 2045, the projected population along Burnt Store Ro[a]d area will support a new Neighborhood Shopping Center, which includes grocery store, restaurants," and describes such a center at 10 to 20 acres (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan presentation, June 11, 2024). Until a store has a permit, the nearest full grocery remains the Publix at Burnt Store Marketplace, about 11 minutes from the community's map pin.
The county's June 2024 presentation counted 10,599 entitled homes in the Burnt Store Area Plan and projects corridor housing growing from 2,872 units in 2023 to 11,758 in 2045 (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan presentation, June 11, 2024).
Year | 2023 | 2025 | 2030 | 2035 | 2040 | 2045 | 2050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population | 4,567 | 5,237 | 7,154 | 10,212 | 14,668 | 18,802 | 20,802 |
Housing units | 2,872 | 3,311 | 4,527 | 6,429 | 9,212 | 11,758 | 12,966 |
Source: Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan presentation, June 11, 2024. These are county projections, not counts.
The same presentation lists what the county says cannot be changed: most projects are already approved, and approved densities cannot be lowered. For a buyer, the projection is the useful part. It says the corridor around Esplanade at Starling is expected to roughly quadruple its housing by 2045, which means more neighbors, more traffic on Burnt Store Road and, eventually, the population a grocery-anchored center needs.
The county's 2026 level of service report gives the current picture for the roads residents use most (Charlotte County, 2026 Roadway Level of Service Data).
Road segment | Lanes | 2026 average daily traffic | Level of service | Share of capacity used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Burnt Store Road, Lee County line to Zemel Road | 4 | 16,308 | C | 43 percent |
Burnt Store Road, Zemel Road to Notre Dame Boulevard (in front of Esplanade at Starling) | 4 | 20,346 | C | 53 percent |
Burnt Store Road, Notre Dame Boulevard to Acline Road | 4 | 17,568 | C | 46 percent |
Burnt Store Road, Acline Road to US 41 | 4 | 23,220 | C | 61 percent |
Jones Loop Road, Burnt Store Road to Taylor Road | 4 | 17,085 | C | 45 percent |
Tucker's Grade, US 41 to I-75 | 4 | 15,606 | C | 41 percent |
Source: Charlotte County, 2026 Roadway Level of Service Data. The county's adopted standard for each segment is level of service D.
Every segment in the table runs at level of service C, better than the county's adopted standard, with the busiest stretch the northern end of Burnt Store Road near US 41. The report applies a 5 percent growth rate to the Burnt Store Road segments, which reflects how fast the corridor is filling.
The Tuckers Grade Extension east-west connector from Burnt Store Road to US 41, north of the community, was adopted as the preferred route on September 24, 2024; final design, right-of-way and construction are not funded (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Road East-West Connector). The county's project page, updated September 16, 2026, states that "Final design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction phases are not funded."
The county's 2026 sales tax project sheet describes a two-lane road "designed, permitted, and constructed for future widening," with bicycle and pedestrian facilities, at a total of $46,176,000: $5,802,000 for design, $6,263,000 for right-of-way and $34,111,000 for construction (Charlotte County, 2026 infrastructure project sheet). It is a Tier 1 project on the November 3, 2026 sales tax extension list (Charlotte County, 2026 Sales Tax Extension). Treat the road as an idea with an adopted route and no money yet; the referendum decides whether it moves.
On November 3, 2026, Charlotte County voters decide whether to extend the county's 1 percent local option sales tax for 20 years (Charlotte County, 2026 Sales Tax Extension). A county column describes 56 proposed projects across county and school infrastructure and notes that the 2020 extension passed with 67 percent (Charlotte County, column, May 6, 2026). Several projects on the list sit on or serve the Burnt Store corridor:
Project | Amount on the county sheet | What it would fund |
|---|---|---|
Burnt Store Road Area East-West Connector (Tier 1) | $46,176,000 | Design, right-of-way and construction of the Tuckers Grade Extension |
Bissett Park Phase 2 | $4,500,000 | Restroom and fishing pier replacement, playground expansion and a walking path |
Bissett Park Phase 3 | $35,100,000 | A recreation center with emergency sheltering capability |
Burnt Store Regional Park | $63,000,000 | Land for a regional park, a recreation center and an aquatic facility; site not chosen |
Charlotte County Sheriff's Office District 6 | $15,000,000 | A district office in the Burnt Store area of south county; site not chosen |
Sources: Charlotte County, Bissett Park Phase 2 sheet; Bissett Park Phase 3 sheet; Burnt Store Regional Park sheet; CCSO District 6 sheet; East-West Connector sheet.
Each of these depends on the referendum. None is funded today, and none should be read as a promise. If the extension passes, the county's project pages will carry the schedules; if it fails, these projects return to the list of unfunded needs.
Charlotte County is building Fire and EMS Station 17 at 11711 Tamiami Trail, with a forecast completion of March 2027 (Charlotte County, Fire Station 17). The county's project page lists a total budget of $11,352,588 funded by the 2020 sales tax. A county column describes a hardened building of about 13,000 square feet with a four-bay apparatus area, built for growth near Tucker's Grade (Charlotte County, column, May 6, 2026). When it opens, it will add a second county station on this side of Punta Gorda, alongside Station 5 on Burnt Store Road, whose response zone includes Esplanade at Starling.
Bissett Park is a 16-acre developed county community park at 12455 Path Avenue, off the corridor (Charlotte County GIS, parks layer). Its future depends on the referendum: Phase 2 ($4.5 million) would replace the restroom and fishing pier and expand the playground, and Phase 3 ($35.1 million) would add a recreation center that the county describes with emergency sheltering capability (Charlotte County, Bissett Park Phase 3 sheet). Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park lies along Burnt Store Road to the west, about 6 minutes from the community's map pin.
The district's five-year facilities work plan lists no new school (Florida Department of Education, Charlotte County Five-Year District Facilities Work Plan). Esplanade at Starling children attend schools in Punta Gorda, about 14 to 17 minutes away (see the schools section).
The county is expanding its Burnt Store wastewater plant; design and permitting began in November 2025 (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Water Reclamation Facility expansion). Charlotte County Utilities' July 2026 update describes a temporary packaged plant first, followed by a permanent expansion, and says design options for the permanent expansion would soon be ready for staff review (Charlotte County Utilities, quarterly update, July 23, 2026). Which county plant receives Esplanade at Starling's sewer flows: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). That is utility capacity for corridor growth, the kind of work that has to happen before the projected homes can connect.
The facts sort into three groups. Esplanade at Starling's own later phases, the neighboring plats already recorded and Fire Station 17 are real and underway: expect construction traffic and new neighbors for years. PD-25-13 to the south and the Tuckers Grade Extension are decisions still to be made, by the County Commission and by voters on November 3, 2026. The commercial space on nearby approvals is entitlement without a tenant we could find. Weigh the first group, watch the second, and set the third aside until a permit appears.
Buying near a project that matters to you? Our Punta Gorda buyer's guide explains how we check the county's records for a specific homesite. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
Charlotte County Utilities provides water and sewer in Esplanade at Starling, and the county bills solid waste collection, fire rescue and stormwater on the tax bill. The community is in unincorporated Charlotte County, tax district 121, ZIP 33955. Taylor Morrison markets natural gas; the electric, gas and internet providers are not confirmed in public records.
Data updated: October 2026 (Starling Community Development District Master Engineer's Report and adopted FY2027 budget; Charlotte County Property Appraiser record card, 2025 final and 2026 proposed rate charts; Charlotte County MSBU records, MSBU year 2027; Charlotte County GIS street lighting, transit and commission district layers; Charlotte County DRC-24-156 decision letter; all read October 2, 2026).
Water and sewer are Charlotte County Utilities. The district engineer's permit list includes Charlotte County Utilities utility permit 22-1023 and its first modification, along with state permits for the potable water and wastewater systems, and the engineer's capital plan assigns operation and maintenance of the water and sewer systems to the county (Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). The district finances those lines; the county runs them.
Charlotte County Utilities' Burnt Store water treatment plant on the corridor is a reverse osmosis plant drawing on the Floridan and Hawthorne aquifers (Charlotte County Utilities, Burnt Store Water Treatment Plant). Which county plants serve Esplanade at Starling specifically, and the connection and impact fees paid on a home: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Ask Taylor Morrison what was paid at permit and what the buyer pays at closing, and how lawns and common areas are irrigated.
Taylor Morrison markets Esplanade at Starling as served by natural gas (Taylor Morrison builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). That is the builder's statement; the gas provider and the rate structure are not in any public record we read. The electric provider for Esplanade at Starling homes, and internet providers and speeds, are also not confirmed in any public record we read. Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
Ask the builder which providers serve the homesite and what is pre-wired, and check each internet provider's address-level availability map before you rely on a speed. For gas, ask whether the range, water heater, dryer or a future pool heater are plumbed for it, because that decides how much the gas service is worth to you.
Solid waste collection is a county service billed on the tax bill. The county's MSBU records for a Starling home show a sanitation charge of $335.51 per home for MSBU year 2027, the Charlotte County Sanitation Unit for curbside collection and disposal (Charlotte County, MSBU records). The hauler and the collection days for Starling streets: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The county's solid waste service and the first tax bill on a completed home will show them.
The Starling Community Development District runs the infrastructure behind the walls. It finances, owns and maintains the stormwater system and finances the water and sewer lines, and its plan includes perimeter walls, perimeter landscaping and wetland mitigation (Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). Fiscal year 2027 is the first year the district levies assessments on homesites; earlier years were funded by the landowner (Starling Community Development District, adopted FY2027 and FY2026 budgets).
For fiscal year 2027, the district's adopted budget lists $1,051.83 a year for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for 52-foot and $1,499.52 for 62-foot, of which $111.70 is operations and the rest is Series 2025 debt service (Starling Community Development District, adopted FY2027 budget). The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the operations assessment; only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home. The full fee stack, by homesite class, is in the cost section of this page.
The district's engineer says "The Developer intends to lease streetlights through an agreement with a local utility provider and will fund the streetlights through an annual operations and maintenance assessment" (Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). Which entity levies that streetlight cost is not named in the report. Separately, the county's mapped Greater Charlotte Street Lighting District covers the community, and it is billed as a lighting millage on the county tax bill rather than as a separate charge (Charlotte County GIS, Greater Charlotte Street Lighting District).
Esplanade at Starling is in unincorporated Charlotte County with a Punta Gorda mailing address (ZIP 33955); the appraiser's record reads "In City of Punta Gorda: NO," so no city levy applies (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, record card). The community is in tax district 121. The 2025 final rate for that district is 15.0855 mills, and the 2026 proposed rates add up to 15.4046 mills; the final 2026 rate was not posted when we checked (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 final rates; Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2026 proposed rates).
Taxing authority, district 121 | 2025 final (mills) | 2026 proposed (mills) |
|---|---|---|
County general fund | 6.0394 | 6.1576 |
County lighting | 0.1907 | 0.1907 |
Law enforcement | 2.1449 | 2.3618 |
School, by state law | 3.0400 | 3.0240 |
School, local board | 3.2480 | 3.2480 |
Southwest Florida Water Management District | 0.1831 | 0.1831 |
West Coast Inland Navigation District | 0.0394 | 0.0394 |
Environmentally sensitive lands (voter approved) | 0.2000 | 0.2000 |
Total | 15.0855 | 15.4046 |
Sources: Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 final rates; Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2026 proposed rates. The 2026 total is the sum of the published proposed rates, not a certified figure.
On top of the millage, the bill carries non-ad valorem charges. The county's MSBU records for a Starling home show Fire Rescue $294.90 and solid waste $335.51 per home, and South Charlotte Stormwater $26.75 per acre (MSBU year 2027) (Charlotte County, MSBU records). The 2027 district budget expects to bill the district assessment directly, and the district's notice says some developed homes may see it on the county tax bill instead. Check the tax bill and ask the district manager, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates. A full 2026 tax bill for a built Starling home: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
The internal roads are private and belong to the association; the district finances stormwater, water and sewer lines, not the roads (Starling Community Development District, Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). Road repairs, resurfacing and gate operations are therefore association costs, part of what the association fee pays for.
Esplanade at Starling is gated (builder); the county's site plan conditions require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter). The zoning allows one main entrance, from Burnt Store Road at Starling Boulevard, and an emergency-only access to the east that the district's engineer says will connect to Green Gulf Boulevard in the future (Charlotte County, PD-21-00010 ordinance). Gate access rules for guests, contractors and deliveries would sit in the association's rules and the Declaration, which was not available to us. The Declaration controls.
The county's approval of the amenity center includes a mail kiosk among its approved features, alongside the clubhouse, pool and courts (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156 decision letter). That suggests central mail collection at the amenity site rather than a box at each house. Whether the kiosk is open today, and whether there are package lockers: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Ask the builder or the association where mail goes for your street before moving day.
Esplanade at Starling is inside the Charlotte County Transit weekday service area, and it is in County Commission District 2 (Charlotte County GIS). Fire and EMS come from the county; the community is in the response zone of Station 5 on Burnt Store Road, and Station 17 off US 41 has a forecast completion of March 2027 (Charlotte County, Fire Station 17). Law enforcement is the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, funded through the law enforcement millage in the table above.
Taylor Morrison's sales center and models are on Dove Drive (Taylor Morrison builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026), and the builder owns most of the parcels on the roll. On moving day, expect construction vehicles on Starling Boulevard and the Replat 1 streets, and plan large deliveries with the gate in mind: tell the gate who is coming and when.
Esplanade at Starling's daily logistics are settled partly by public record and partly by the builder. The record gives county water and sewer, county trash and fire rescue on the tax bill, a district that owns the stormwater system, private association roads behind a gate, a mail kiosk in the approved amenity plan and a county tax bill in district 121. It does not give the electric, gas or internet providers, the trash hauler or the irrigation source, so ask Taylor Morrison or the seller for each provider in writing before closing.
Ready to look at Esplanade at Starling in person? Learn how we represent buyers, or compare nearby choices in Turnleaf, Heritage Landing and Burnt Store Village. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
Esplanade at Starling recorded 48 county sales at a $540,850 median in the 12 months to September 26, 2026, a smaller count than Turnleaf's 79, Willow's 93 or Burnt Store Village's 77 over the same window. This section sets Esplanade at Starling beside five live guides on this site, each figure tied to its own count, window and source.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, for Esplanade at Starling; the figures and windows printed on our Turnleaf, Willow, Heritage Landing, Burnt Store Village and Babcock Ranch guides, read October 2, 2026).
The table lists Esplanade at Starling and five communities that have live guides on this site. Each row states its own recorded-sale count and its own window, because the windows and, in one row, the data basis are not identical. Medians appear only as the figure each guide prints, and they are context, not a ranking. The fee column repeats each guide's own description of its billed layers, in that guide's words and year.
Community | Recorded sales and window | Median | Fees as each page states them | Cited to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Esplanade at Starling | 48 recorded sales, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 | $540,850 | Starling CDD FY2027 $1,051.83 to $1,499.52 by lot class; association estimate $4,459 to $4,699 a year (draft bond document) | This page; Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis |
Turnleaf | 79 recorded sales, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 | $350,000 | Coral Creek CDD FY2026 on-roll $1,946.81 to $3,015.02 per single-family home; twin villa $2,002.56; association dues not published | |
Willow | 93 recorded sales, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 | Not stated for the 12 months; calendar 2025 $330,000 (86 sales); 2026 to September 26 $320,000 (53 sales) | Tuckers Pointe CDD FY2027 $1,113.20 to $2,246.57; master association estimate about $2,116 to $3,804 a year (offering statement) | |
Heritage Landing | 138 recorded sales, September 5, 2025 to August 31, 2026 (30 builder first sales at a $435,000 median; 108 resales at $330,000) | $352,500 | Tern Bay CDD operating assessment $1,356.09 per home for fiscal 2027 | |
Burnt Store Village | 77 recorded sales, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 | $325,000 | Street and drainage MSBU $50 per ERU (maximum $195); association dues not published; no CDD | |
Babcock Ranch | 668 homes sold, SW Florida MLS, trailing 12 months ending July 2026 | $390,000 (MLS basis) | Master HOA $408 per quarter including fiber; $238 capital contribution at closing; FY2026 district assessment $1,196.75 to $6,117.54 per unit; solid waste $340.58 |
Source: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, for Esplanade at Starling; every other row is the figure printed on the guide named, read October 2, 2026. Esplanade at Starling, Turnleaf, Willow and Burnt Store Village share the same 12-month county window. Heritage Landing's window ends August 31, 2026. Babcock Ranch's figures are MLS closings, a different basis and window from county recorded deeds, so its median is not comparable as a like-for-like figure. We print no per-square-foot figure for any row.
Start with the count column. A count tells you how much evidence sits behind a median. Esplanade at Starling's 48 recorded sales are a real sample for a community whose first recorded home sales came only in 2025, and every one of them is a first sale of a new home from the builder: no Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Turnleaf's record is also all first sales by its guide's analysis. Heritage Landing's guide splits its 138 into 30 builder first sales and 108 resales. Willow's and Burnt Store Village's guides count their sales on their own terms, so read each row with its own guide.
Then read the window. Four rows share September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, so their counts can be set side by side directly: 48 for Esplanade at Starling, 79 for Turnleaf, 93 for Willow and 77 for Burnt Store Village. Heritage Landing's window ends August 31, 2026. Babcock Ranch's ends in July 2026 and comes from the MLS, not the county file.
Then read what each row counts. Esplanade at Starling's 48 are qualified sales of improved properties on the Starling plats, the county's record name for the community. A median is a middle value, and it moves with the mix of homes. Esplanade at Starling's $540,850 is the midpoint of the 24th and 25th of 48 sales, not the price of any one home (our analysis). Two communities can print medians far apart because one builder sells larger plans on wider homesites, not because the same house costs more in one place.
For that reason this page never says one community is cheaper than another on the strength of one median, and we never subtract one median from another. If a specific comparison matters to your offer, we can line up the recorded sales for two streets or two homesite classes from the county file.
Esplanade at Starling's 48 recorded sales from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 ran from $305,000 to $1,014,800, with a $540,850 median, and they spread across six price bands. Note that the $600,000 band is $200,000 wide, twice the width of the bands below it.
Price band | Recorded sales (of 48) |
|---|---|
$300,000 to $399,999 | 13 |
$400,000 to $499,999 | 3 |
$500,000 to $599,999 | 13 |
$600,000 to $799,999 (a $200,000 band) | 15 |
$800,000 to $999,999 | 2 |
$1,000,000 and up | 2 |
Source: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, recorded sales September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026. Recorded sales through the county file dated September 27, 2026; the newest sale in it closed September 4, 2026. The highest recorded sale was $1,014,800 on Brent Lane, July 24, 2026.
The shape is two-humped. Thirteen sales sit between $300,000 and $399,999, only three between $400,000 and $499,999, and then 28 of the 48 sit between $500,000 and $799,999. Four recorded at $800,000 or more. The highest recorded prices are on Brent Lane, Dove Drive and Victoria Place; the lowest are on Lark Court and Robin Avenue (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Of the 48, 36 carry a year built of 2025 on the roll and 12 closed before the roll recorded a building, so we print no size for those 12.
The calendar years are separate windows. In 2025 the county recorded 14 Esplanade at Starling sales at a $595,300 median; from January 1 to September 26, 2026 it recorded 38 at a $537,350 median. Each stands on its own count and window, and we never add or average them.
Turnleaf, directly north, is a separate master plan with its own district, the Coral Creek CDD, and it is the closest rival in kind: new construction, a district on the bill and an amenity center approved by the county. Our Turnleaf guide prints 79 recorded sales over exactly Esplanade at Starling's window, so the counts compare directly: 48 against 79.
The medians, $540,850 here and $350,000 there, sit on equal dates but on different builder mixes. Turnleaf's guide lists four builders and a recorded range of $239,500 to $887,400; Esplanade at Starling has one builder and a recorded range of $305,000 to $1,014,800 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The full decision table sits in the next section.
Willow lies to the northeast, east of US 41, with its own district, the Tuckers Pointe CDD. Our Willow guide prints 93 recorded sales over the same window as Esplanade at Starling's 48, so the counts line up exactly. The medians do not, because the Willow guide prints no 12-month median: its calendar 2025 figure is $330,000 on 86 sales and its 2026 to September 26 figure is $320,000 on 53 sales, each a different window from Esplanade at Starling's $540,850 on 48.
Willow is the larger plan, with up to 1,389 planned homes under its district plan against Esplanade at Starling's 774 planned homesites (DRC-24-171). Its guide lists two builders, Lennar and Toll Brothers, seen September 30, 2026. Both communities print an association figure that is an estimate from a bond document rather than an adopted budget: about $2,116 to $3,804 a year for Willow's master association (offering statement, per the Willow guide), and $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn maintenance for Starling Homeowners Association (the district's 2025 draft bond offering document, figures furnished by the developer) (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda). Estimates are not budgets, and the two may not cover the same services, so ask for the adopted budget on a named home in each.
Willow's guide reports a county amenity approval in April 2024 (DRC-24-003) and an offering statement that dates construction from October 2025, and it does not describe the center as open. Esplanade at Starling's amenity approval came in March 2025, and as of October 2, 2026 Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open, the resort-style pool as coming soon, the Bahama Bar as planned and The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027 (DRC-24-156; builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
Heritage Landing lies across Burnt Store Road, and it is the most different neighbor on this stretch of the corridor. Our guide describes a gated golf community of about 1,545 homes and condominiums that Lennar built almost entirely between 2019 and 2025, with an 18-hole course through the middle. It prints 138 recorded sales from September 5, 2025 to August 31, 2026 at a $352,500 median, of which 30 were builder first sales at a $435,000 median and 108 were resales at $330,000.
The pair gives a buyer a clean contrast. Heritage Landing's record is now mostly resales of homes a few years old, around a golf course. Esplanade at Starling's record is entirely first sales of 2025 homes, and it has no golf course of its own; Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club is the nearest golf, across the road. Both bill a district: Heritage Landing's guide prints the Tern Bay CDD operating assessment at $1,356.09 for fiscal 2027, and the Starling CDD's adopted fiscal 2027 budget lists $1,051.83 to $1,499.52 per homesite by class, of which $111.70 is operations and the rest is Series 2025 debt service (Starling CDD, FY2027 adopted budget). One is an operating line and the other an operations-plus-debt total, so compare full bills on named homes, not these two numbers.
Burnt Store Village shares Esplanade at Starling's exact 12-month window, so its 77 recorded sales at a $325,000 median sit beside Esplanade at Starling's 48 at $540,850 on equal dates. Our guide describes a deed-restricted 1970 plat of about 1,450 lots per its association (1,387 roll parcels), built out lot by lot, with a mandatory association, a Community Park with a lakeside walking path and no pool.
The difference is structure. Burnt Store Village carries a county street and drainage MSBU of $50 per ERU (maximum $195) and no community development district, per its guide. Esplanade at Starling is a single gated master plan with a district that carries bond debt through May 1, 2056, private roads owned by the association and an amenity program on about 6.8 acres (Starling CDD, November 5, 2025 agenda, Final Supplemental Methodology; DRC-24-156). A buyer choosing between them is choosing between a plain lot with fewer layers and a gated planned community with more layers and a clubhouse plan.
Babcock Ranch is the scale reference for new construction in Charlotte County. Our guide describes 19,500 planned homes on 17,843 acres with about 2053 as its buildout, ten active builders and two age-qualified communities, and it prints 668 homes sold at a $390,000 median from the SW Florida MLS over the trailing 12 months ending July 2026. Esplanade at Starling's figures are county recorded deeds over a window ending in September, so the two medians are on different bases and we never set one against the other.
The fee structures differ too. Babcock Ranch's guide prints a master HOA of $408 per quarter including fiber, a $238 capital contribution at closing, a fiscal 2026 district assessment of $1,196.75 to $6,117.54 per unit and a $340.58 solid waste charge. Esplanade at Starling's district bill is published by homesite class in the fiscal 2027 adopted budget, its association figure is a draft estimate, and its capital contribution at closing is unpublished. From 26000 Starling Boulevard, the Babcock Ranch town center at 42880 Crescent Loop is about 39 minutes and 28.7 road miles (OSRM, our analysis, free-flow, no traffic).
Esplanade at Starling has no golf course, marina or boat ramp of its own; its lakes are stormwater lakes the district will own and maintain (PD-21-00010; Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). For golf, the nearest course is Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club across Burnt Store Road; access terms are set by that club, not by Esplanade at Starling. For boating, the nearest full-service marina is Safe Harbor Burnt Store, in Lee County with a Punta Gorda address, about 7 road miles south (Safe Harbor Burnt Store; OSRM, our analysis). Our Burnt Store Marina guide covers the community around it. Public ramps listed in the state's boating guide include Laishley Park and Ponce de Leon Park, with no fee (FWC boat ramp guide).
Two measures that buyers expect are missing. Days on market and sale-to-list ratio come from the MLS, not the county file. For Esplanade at Starling: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). We would rather print that line than borrow a sibling's figure, because another community's days on market says nothing about a community where every recorded sale so far is a first sale from the builder.
The comparison also cannot tell you what a builder's price includes. What Taylor Morrison advertises is builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026, not a recorded sale, and we keep the two apart. If your search is broader than Esplanade at Starling, our Punta Gorda new construction guide covers the new-home market across the city, and the Punta Gorda buyer guide explains how we work with buyers.
Esplanade at Starling and Turnleaf are next-door new-construction communities on the east side of Burnt Store Road, each with its own district and county-approved amenities. Esplanade at Starling offers a gate, one builder, lawn care in the association estimate and a lower district bill; Turnleaf offers four builders and lower recorded prices.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, for Esplanade at Starling; Starling Community Development District documents; Charlotte County; FEMA; our Turnleaf guide for every Turnleaf figure, read October 2, 2026).
Every Turnleaf figure below is cited to our Turnleaf guide. Esplanade at Starling figures come from county records, the Starling district's documents, FEMA and builder marketing, as cited in the text that follows.
Factor | Esplanade at Starling | Turnleaf (live page) |
|---|---|---|
Where it sits | East side of Burnt Store Road, south of Turnleaf, north of Zemel Road | East side of Burnt Store Road, directly north of Esplanade at Starling |
Builders | One (Taylor Morrison) | Four (Dream Finders Homes, Lennar, M/I Homes, Perry Homes) |
Scale | 774 homesites planned (1,440 zoning ceiling); 407 platted | Up to 1,762 approved; 412 platted |
Gate | Gated (builder); county site plan condition requires gate arms with an EVAC system | Developer states it will not have restricted access |
Recorded sales, same window | 48, median $540,850, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 | 79, median $350,000, same window |
Recorded range | $305,000 to $1,014,800 | $239,500 to $887,400 |
District | Starling CDD, FY2027 adopted $1,051.83 to $1,499.52 by homesite class | Coral Creek CDD, FY2026 on-roll $1,946.81 to $3,015.02 (single-family) |
District bonds | Series 2025, $12,530,000, repaid through May 1, 2056 | Series 2024, maturing through 2054 |
Association | Estimate $4,459 to $4,699 a year, including lawn maintenance (draft bond document) | Not published |
Amenities | County-approved clubhouse, Bahama bar, pool, a tennis court, pickleball and bocce courts, dog parks and community garden on about 6.8 acres; dog park, tennis and pickleball open per builder; clubhouse slated for early 2027 | 5,500 sq ft building, pool, four pickleball courts and bocce approved; not built |
Flood map | Zone D on every lot; no map revision | May 2026 revision put every built home's lot in Zone X |
Evacuation zone | Split: all 42 built homes in Zone D; 218 of 457 parcels in Zone C | Split: of 73 built homes, 68 in Zone D and 5 in Zone C |
Assigned schools | East Elementary, Punta Gorda Middle, Charlotte High | Same three |
Sources: Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis; DRC-24-171; PD-21-00010, Ordinance 2021-036; DRC-24-156; Starling CDD FY2027 adopted budget; Starling CDD, January 7, 2026 agenda; Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer; Charlotte County evacuation zones layer; Boundary Locator; builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026 (not linked); our Turnleaf guide. The two district rows are different fiscal years, 2027 for Starling and 2026 for Coral Creek, and they are read here as each district publishes them.
The first practical difference is how many builders you can compare without leaving the community. Taylor Morrison is the only builder in Esplanade at Starling, and Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc still owns most of the parcels on the September 27, 2026 roll, including lake, road and open-space tracts as well as unsold homesites (Charlotte County ownership layer; Charlotte County Property Appraiser, our analysis). Taylor Morrison sells three collections, named 42, 52 and 62, with 14 floor plans from 1,483 to 4,591 square feet, one and two stories, 2 to 6 bedrooms (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
Turnleaf's guide lists four builders: Dream Finders Homes, Lennar, M/I Homes and Perry Homes. A buyer who wants to compare several builders' products and contracts in one place has more of that next door. A buyer who has already settled on Taylor Morrison's plans, or who values one builder's consistent design across every street, gets that here. Either way, the builder's own price list is marketing, not a recorded sale, and Esplanade at Starling's starting prices appear only in the builder table earlier on this page.
The gate is the plainest difference. Esplanade at Starling is gated (builder marketing), and the county's site plan conditions require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (DRC-24-156). Turnleaf's guide reports that its developer states Turnleaf will not have restricted access.
The amenity programs differ in scale and in progress. The county approved the Starling Amenity Center on about 6.8 acres: "a clubhouse, Bahama bar, pool, tennis court, pickle ball courts, bocce ball courts, mail kiosk, community garden, large dog park, and small dog park" (DRC-24-156). As of October 2, 2026, Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open, the resort-style pool as coming soon, the Bahama Bar as planned and The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027, with a lifestyle room, catering kitchen, fitness center, spa treatment room and outdoor terrace (builder marketing). Turnleaf's guide describes an approved 5,500 sq ft recreational building, pool area, four pickleball courts and a bocce court that are not built. The two communities do not share amenities; Turnleaf's guide notes that Esplanade at Starling's clubhouse is not one of Turnleaf's amenities.
Taylor Morrison also markets an on-site lifestyle manager and its Esplanade lifestyle programs here (builder marketing). Those are the builder's programs, described in its own words, not rules or services written into a recorded document we have read.
Esplanade at Starling is planned for 774 single-family homesites in three phases under the county's January 2025 approval, on about 297 acres, and the zoning allows up to 1,440 homes (DRC-24-171; PD-21-00010). Today 407 homesites are platted, 42 homes are on the roll, and a Phase 2 site plan of 131 single-family lots was approved in 2025 with no Phase 2 plat recorded as of October 2, 2026 (DRC-24-224).
Turnleaf's guide prints up to 1,762 homes approved with 412 platted. Both communities have most of their homes still to come, so a buyer in either should expect construction traffic and noise nearby for some time. In Esplanade at Starling, the 42 built homes sit on Victoria Place, Lark Court, Dove Drive, Dunlin Avenue and Robin Avenue, while Arbor Circle, Blue Court, Argus Place, Adelie Way and Brent Lane are platted streets with no home yet on the roll (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis). The roll lags construction, so walk the street you are considering.
Esplanade at Starling and Turnleaf share a 12-month window, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, so their recorded-sale counts line up exactly: 48 for Esplanade at Starling, 79 for Turnleaf. Both records are first sales of new homes, by our analysis here and by the Turnleaf guide's analysis there.
Esplanade at Starling's file sits higher: 28 of its 48 sales recorded between $500,000 and $799,999, four at $800,000 or more, and its top sale, $1,014,800 on Brent Lane, is above Turnleaf's $887,400 high. Its lowest, $305,000, is above Turnleaf's $239,500 low. Neither fact makes one community a better buy. It means Taylor Morrison's collections reach a different part of the market from Turnleaf's four builders, and a buyer above $500,000 has more recorded evidence to work with in Esplanade at Starling than its smaller count suggests.
The Starling CDD's fiscal 2027 adopted budget, the first year it levies assessments on homesites, lists $1,051.83 a year for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for 52-foot and $1,499.52 for 62-foot, of which $111.70 is operations and the rest is Series 2025 debt service (FY2027 adopted budget; FY2026 budget). The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the operations assessment; only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home (Final Supplemental Methodology, November 5, 2025 agenda).
Turnleaf's guide prints Coral Creek CDD on-roll totals of $1,946.81 to $3,015.02 per single-family home for fiscal 2026, a different year from Starling's 2027 figures. On the association side, Esplanade at Starling has an estimate of $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn maintenance, from the district's 2025 draft bond offering document, using figures furnished by the developer and subject to change; the association's adopted budget was not available to us (August 15, 2025 agenda). Turnleaf's association dues are not published. A draft estimate on one side and nothing on the other cannot be compared as totals. Ask for every recurring charge on a named homesite in each community, in writing, before you compare.
Every lot on the Starling plats is in FEMA flood zone D on the current map, panel 12015C0409G, effective December 15, 2022. Zone D is not a Special Flood Hazard Area on that map, and the map gives no Base Flood Elevation (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer). Next door, Turnleaf's May 2026 FEMA map revision, LOMR 25-04-4878P, moved former Zone D land to zones AE and X, and no comparable revision covers any Starling lot as of October 2, 2026 (FEMA LOMR 25-04-4878P).
Evacuation zones split both communities. Of Esplanade at Starling's 457 parcels, 239 are in Zone D and 218 in Zone C, and all 42 built homes are in Zone D; most of Arbor Circle and all of Adelie Way are Zone C (Charlotte County evacuation zones layer). Turnleaf's guide reports 68 of its 73 built homes in Zone D and 5 in Zone C. In either community, check the address on Know Your Zone, and rely on the lender's flood determination for the exact structure.
Choose Esplanade at Starling if you want a gated, single-builder amenity community with lawn care in the association fee and higher price points: a buyer whose budget sits above $500,000, where 32 of Esplanade at Starling's 48 recorded sales fall, has the deeper record here. It also suits a buyer who wants an amenity program that is partly open already, with tennis, pickleball and a dog park in use per the builder and the clubhouse slated for early 2027, and a first-year district bill under $1,500 by homesite class.
Choose Turnleaf if you want more builders and lower recorded prices, accepting a higher district assessment: four builders compete there, its recorded median is $350,000 on 79 sales, and its guide prints district totals from $1,946.81 to $3,015.02 for fiscal 2026. Read our Turnleaf guide for its full fee table and flood revision.
If you cannot decide, tour both on the same day and bring us the paperwork for a named homesite in each. Our buyer services page explains how we represent buyers in builder communities.
Four names cause confusion on this corridor. Esplanade at Starling is Taylor Morrison's name for the community the county records as Starling, and its district and association carry the Starling name (Charlotte County Subdivisions layer; Florida Division of Corporations). Taylor Morrison uses the Esplanade name on several Florida communities; this guide covers only Esplanade at Starling on Burnt Store Road. Turnleaf's district is the Coral Creek CDD, and Coral Lakes, also to the north, is a separate community with its own Coral Lakes CDD (Charlotte County Petitions layer). Check the legal description on any listing against the plat name, Starling, before you rely on it.
The pros of Esplanade at Starling are a gate, a county-approved amenity program that is partly open, lawn care in the association estimate, homes built in 2025 and a first-year district bill under $1,500 by class. The cons are an unpublished Declaration and association budget, a clubhouse due in early 2027, Zone D without a revision and debt through 2056.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files and roll, our analysis; Starling Community Development District; FEMA; Charlotte County; Charlotte County Public Schools; Florida Department of Education; builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
The pros are mostly about the setting: a gate, an amenity program you can already partly use, lawn care in the estimated fee, new homes and a district bill that starts modestly. The cons are mostly about the documents: a Declaration and an association budget you have not yet seen, a district with bond debt through 2056 and a billing path still being settled, a clubhouse still under way and a flood zone with no Base Flood Elevation on the current map. None is a reason to walk away. Each is a reason to ask for a document before you sign.
Our order of operations is short. Ask Taylor Morrison for the recorded Declaration and the association's current budget. Ask the district manager, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates, for an estoppel letter that shows your homesite class and whether its Series 2025 debt was prepaid (Starling CDD, About). Get a lender's flood determination for your exact structure. And check the amenity status in person, because the builder's status labels change.
Esplanade at Starling buyers ask what it is, whether it is gated or 55+, what the Starling CDD and association cost, how flooding, schools and drives work, and how it compares with Turnleaf. The answers below draw on county records, the Starling district's documents, FEMA and builder marketing, each figure tied to its source and window.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files and roll, our analysis, sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026; Starling Community Development District documents; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer; Charlotte County Public Schools; builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026).
Esplanade at Starling is Taylor Morrison's name for the gated community of new single-family homes that the county records as Starling, on the east side of Burnt Store Road with a Punta Gorda mailing address (Charlotte County Subdivisions layer; builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). Taylor Morrison is the only builder. The community has one association, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., and one district, the Starling Community Development District (Florida Division of Corporations; Ordinance 2024-007).
Esplanade at Starling sits on the east side of Burnt Store Road, south of Turnleaf and north of Zemel Road (PFP-24-05 decision letter). The one main entrance is from Burnt Store Road at Starling Boulevard, with an emergency-only access to the east that the district's engineer says will connect to Green Gulf Boulevard in the future (PD-21-00010; May 1, 2024 agenda). From 26000 Starling Boulevard, downtown Punta Gorda is about 14 minutes and Burnt Store Road at US 41 about 7 minutes (OSRM, our analysis).
No. Esplanade at Starling is in unincorporated Charlotte County with a Punta Gorda mailing address, ZIP 33955. The Property Appraiser's record card for a home in the community reads "In City of Punta Gorda: NO" (Property Appraiser parcel record). Charlotte County government, not the city, handles zoning, permits and county services, and the community sits in county Commission District 2 (Charlotte County GIS). Our Punta Gorda guide covers the wider area.
Esplanade at Starling is not marketed as a 55+ community. Taylor Morrison's listing data marks its homes as not age-restricted (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026), and the district's 2025 draft bond document describes the community as marketed as active-lifestyle and age-targeted (August 15, 2025 agenda). No recorded age restriction was found. The recorded Declaration controls age rules, and it was not available to us, so ask Taylor Morrison for it before you sign.
Yes. Esplanade at Starling is gated (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026), and the county's site plan conditions for the amenity center require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (DRC-24-156). The internal roads are private and belong to the association (Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). Whether the gate is staffed or electronic, and the rules for guests and contractors, sit in the association's documents, which were not available to us.
Taylor Morrison is the only builder in Esplanade at Starling. Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc still owns most of the parcels on the September 27, 2026 roll, including tracts as well as unsold homesites (Charlotte County ownership layer; Charlotte County Property Appraiser, our analysis). The sales center and models are on Dove Drive, at 26601 Dove Drive (builder marketing). We do not link builder sites from this guide.
We do not rate builders, and no public record we read grades one. What the record does show for Esplanade at Starling is 48 recorded first sales of new homes in 12 months, all on homes the roll dates to 2025 or that closed before the roll recorded a building (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Judge the product by touring finished homes, reading the warranty documents, ordering an independent inspection at each stage your contract allows and asking owners on the street you are considering.
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). We did not read Taylor Morrison's warranty document for Esplanade at Starling, so we print no term. Ask the sales center for the written warranty with your purchase agreement, and read what it covers, how claims are made and whether it transfers to a later buyer. The warranty is a contract term between you and the builder, and the document, not a sales conversation, is what governs it.
The county's January 2025 approval plans Esplanade at Starling as 774 single-family homesites in three phases, and the zoning, Ordinance 2021-036, allows up to 1,440 homes on about 297 acres (DRC-24-171; PD-21-00010). The 774 is the plan; the 1,440 is the ceiling. Every homesite on the recorded plats is single-family detached; the zoning would also allow attached homes, but none appears on any Starling plat or site plan.
The September 27, 2026 roll lists 457 parcels across the Starling plats, of which 407 are platted homesites by our count and 50 are tracts for lakes, roads, open space, the amenity site and future development. Forty-two single-family homes are on the roll, all built in 2025: 16 on Victoria Place, 9 on Lark Court, 8 on Dove Drive, 7 on Dunlin Avenue and 2 on Robin Avenue, from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet of heated living area (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, our analysis). The roll lags construction, so more homes may be finished than it shows.
Taylor Morrison's advertised starting prices appear in the builder table earlier on this page, headed "What Taylor Morrison advertises (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026)", for 14 plans from 1,483 to 4,591 square feet. Those are marketing starting prices, not recorded sales and not a floor, and they change. The recorded record is different: the county's 48 qualified sales from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 had a $540,850 median and ran from $305,000 to $1,014,800 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis).
The county recorded 48 qualified sales of improved properties in Esplanade at Starling from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, at a $540,850 median, from $305,000 to $1,014,800. Thirteen fell between $300,000 and $399,999, and 28 between $500,000 and $799,999 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The newest sale in the county file dated September 27, 2026 closed September 4, 2026, and no home has a second recorded sale yet.
They are Taylor Morrison's three product collections in Esplanade at Starling, named 42, 52 and 62, with 14 floor plans between them from 1,483 to 4,591 square feet (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). The district assesses homesites in three matching classes, 42-foot, 52-foot and 62-foot (Final Supplemental Methodology, November 5, 2025 agenda). The collections are product lines, not separate neighborhoods: every home is in the same association, district and gate. The class of any one homesite comes from the district's assessment roll or an estoppel letter.
The district's 2025 draft bond offering document, using figures furnished by the developer, estimates association fees of $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn maintenance, subject to change (August 15, 2025 agenda). That is an estimate, not a budget. The association's adopted budget: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Ask Taylor Morrison for the current association budget and the dues for your homesite in writing before you sign.
The only published description is the draft bond document's estimate, which says the $4,459 to $4,699 a year includes lawn maintenance (August 15, 2025 agenda). The association owns the private internal roads, and the district's records say the amenities will be conveyed to it, so its budget will carry their upkeep once that happens (Master Engineer's Report, May 1, 2024 agenda). The full list of covered services sits in the Declaration and the adopted budget, which were not available to us.
Yes. Esplanade at Starling is inside the Starling Community Development District, established by Charlotte County Ordinance No. 2024-007 in March 2024 and covering 296.63 acres (Ordinance 2024-007). It is managed by Wrathell, Hunt and Associates (Starling CDD, About). The district finances, owns and maintains the stormwater system and finances water and sewer lines, walls, landscaping and mitigation; it does not own the roads or the amenities.
For fiscal 2027 (October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027), the district's adopted budget lists $1,051.83 a year for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for 52-foot and $1,499.52 for 62-foot. Of each, $111.70 is operations and the rest is Series 2025 debt service: $940.13, $1,163.97 and $1,387.82 (FY2027 adopted budget). The mailed July 2026 notice states operations at $118.83 per home including collection costs and early payment discounts; the budget figures are after those adjustments (August 5, 2026 agenda).
The difference is entirely in the debt line. Every class pays the same $111.70 operations assessment for fiscal 2027, while the Series 2025 debt service rises with the homesite class: $940.13 for 42-foot, $1,163.97 for 52-foot and $1,387.82 for 62-foot (FY2027 adopted budget). The district's methodology allocates the bond debt across the three classes (Final Supplemental Methodology). Confirm your homesite's class in the closing documents.
It depends on the home. The fiscal 2027 budget expects to bill the assessment directly, and the district's July 2026 notice says the Tax Collector will collect the operations assessment on certain developed property, so some developed homes may see it on the county tax bill instead (FY2027 adopted budget; August 5, 2026 agenda). Check your tax bill and ask the district manager how your homesite is billed.
Possibly, but only a document can say. The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the $111.70 operations assessment (Final Supplemental Methodology, November 5, 2025 agenda). An intent is not a record of payment. Only a district estoppel letter from Wrathell, Hunt and Associates settles it for a specific home, so ask for one before closing and keep it.
The debt part ends; the operations part does not. The Series 2025 bonds are repaid through May 1, 2056, after which that debt line falls away (January 7, 2026 agenda). The operations assessment continues for as long as the district runs its stormwater system and administration, and it is set each year in the budget. The district's 2025 draft bond document also says it intends to issue more bonds for later work, which would carry their own assessments on the land they serve.
Yes, the Series 2025 debt assessment can be prepaid, and a payoff amount for a specific home comes from the district manager, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates (Final Supplemental Methodology; Starling CDD, About). The balance changes as principal is paid, so ask for a dated payoff letter. Prepaying removes only the debt line; the yearly operations assessment, $111.70 for fiscal 2027, still applies.
The operations assessment is set each year in the district's budget, so it can change. The district's July 2026 mailed notice set the operations rate at $118.83 per home including collection costs and early payment discounts, and under that notice the lien amount becomes the maximum rate, so a new mailed notice is required if operations would rise above it (August 5, 2026 agenda). The Series 2025 debt line follows the bond schedule set in the district's methodology.
In Esplanade at Starling they do different jobs. The Starling Community Development District is a local government special district created by county ordinance; it finances, owns and maintains the stormwater system and financed water, sewer, walls, landscaping and mitigation with its Series 2025 bonds (Ordinance 2024-007; Master Engineer's Report). Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. is a private nonprofit that owns the private roads, will receive the amenities and enforces the Declaration (Florida Division of Corporations). You pay both.
Taylor Morrison does, for now. The association's officers on the state record also sit on the district board, whose members are Taylor Morrison employees; no turnover date was found (Florida Division of Corporations; May 1, 2024 minutes). A landowners' election for Seats 3, 4 and 5 is set for November 3, 2026 at 26601 Dove Drive, and residents begin electing seats only after six years and once the district has 250 qualified electors (Starling CDD; Starling CDD FAQ).
Esplanade at Starling homes sit in county tax district 121, where the combined millage was 15.0855 mills for 2025 and the published proposed rates for 2026 sum to 15.4046 mills; the final 2026 rate was not posted as of October 2, 2026 (2025 final rate chart; 2026 proposed rates). The county's MSBU records for a Starling home show Fire Rescue $294.90 and solid waste $335.51 per home and South Charlotte Stormwater $26.75 per acre, MSBU year 2027 (Charlotte County MSBU records). The district assessment is separate.
The county approved the Starling Amenity Center on about 6.8 acres: "a clubhouse, Bahama bar, pool, tennis court, pickle ball courts, bocce ball courts, mail kiosk, community garden, large dog park, and small dog park" (DRC-24-156). As of October 2, 2026, Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open, the resort-style pool as coming soon and the Bahama Bar as planned (builder marketing). The developer is funding the amenities, and the district's records say they will be conveyed to the association; no deed has been recorded.
Taylor Morrison lists The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027, with a lifestyle room, catering kitchen, fitness center, spa treatment room and outdoor terrace (builder marketing, seen October 2, 2026). That is the builder's schedule, not a county record of completion. The zoning requires the clubhouse to be built to the county's highest wind loads and to serve as a post-storm refuge for residents, though not for all of them at once (PD-21-00010). Check the status in person before you count on it.
No. Esplanade at Starling has no golf course, marina or boat ramp of its own, and its lakes are stormwater lakes the district will own and maintain (PD-21-00010). The nearest golf is Heritage Landing Golf and Country Club across Burnt Store Road; see our Heritage Landing guide. The nearest full-service marina is Safe Harbor Burnt Store, in Lee County with a Punta Gorda address, about 7 road miles south (Safe Harbor Burnt Store; OSRM, our analysis).
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). Rental and short-term rental rules for Esplanade at Starling sit in the recorded Declaration for Starling, which was not available to us. To read them, ask Taylor Morrison for the recorded Declaration and any rules and regulations with your purchase agreement, or search the Charlotte County Official Records for the Declaration recorded by Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc. Read the leasing section before you buy if renting is part of your plan.
Pet rules, including any limits on number or size, sit in the recorded Declaration, which was not available to us, so: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). What the records do show is that the county-approved amenity program includes a large dog park and a small dog park, and Taylor Morrison lists the dog park as open as of October 2, 2026 (DRC-24-156; builder marketing). A dog park is an amenity, not a pet rule.
Every lot on the Starling plats is in FEMA flood zone D on the current map, panel 12015C0409G, effective December 15, 2022. Zone D is not a Special Flood Hazard Area on that map, and the map gives no Base Flood Elevation (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer). No FEMA map revision covers any Starling lot as of October 2, 2026, unlike Turnleaf next door, whose May 2026 revision moved former Zone D land to zones AE and X (FEMA LOMR 25-04-4878P).
Charlotte County's flood page explains that flood insurance is mandatory for federally backed mortgages in Special Flood Hazard Areas, zones starting with A or V, and that some lenders require it elsewhere (Charlotte County flood information; FloodSmart). Citizens Property Insurance requires flood coverage on homes with a replacement cost of $400,000 or more for policies from January 1, 2026, and on all personal residential policies from January 1, 2027 (s. 627.351, F.S.). Premiums: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02).
County evacuation zones split Esplanade at Starling. Of 457 parcels, 239 are in Zone D and 218 in Zone C, and all 42 built homes are in Zone D; most of Arbor Circle and all of Adelie Way are Zone C (Charlotte County evacuation zones layer). Evacuation zones are the county's storm surge planning areas, not FEMA flood zones. Check each address on Know Your Zone, and follow Charlotte County Emergency Management's orders and shelter list for each storm.
No Esplanade at Starling home existed during Charley in 2004, Ian in 2022, or Helene and Milton in 2024; every built home on the roll dates from 2025 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis). So there is no storm record for these homes either way. For context, the National Hurricane Center reports that a USGS sensor at Pirate Harbor, about 3 miles west-southwest of Starling by our calculation, measured 4.47 ft above MHHW during Ian (NHC Ian report).
The district's Boundary Locator assigned all six Starling addresses we checked, on six streets, to East Elementary, Punta Gorda Middle and Charlotte High on October 2, 2026 (Boundary Locator). The state's 2026 grades, released September 8, 2026, are B for East Elementary, A for Punta Gorda Middle and B for Charlotte High, and the Charlotte County district is graded A (FLDOE 2026 results). FLDOE changed its grading scale in 2026, so do not compare letters year over year. Verify your own address.
Punta Gorda has no open hospital. The nearest are HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital and AdventHealth Port Charlotte, both about 23 minutes and 13 road miles from 26000 Starling Boulevard (HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital; AdventHealth Port Charlotte; OSRM, our analysis). AdventHealth announced a freestanding emergency department at Jones Loop Road and Mac Ever Street in September 2025; no opening date has been published (AdventHealth). The community is in the response zone of Charlotte County Fire Rescue Station 5.
The nearest Gulf beach, Englewood Beach at Chadwick Park, is about 55 minutes and 33.9 road miles from 26000 Starling Boulevard, and Fort Myers Beach at Lynn Hall Park about 57 minutes (OSRM, our analysis, free-flow, no traffic). Port Charlotte Beach Park, about 26 minutes away, is a harbor beach on Charlotte Harbor, not a Gulf beach; part of the park is closed for a replacement pool and pool house, with a forecast completion of December 2026 (Charlotte County, Port Charlotte Beach Pool project). Allow more time in season.
The nearest full grocery is Publix at Burnt Store Marketplace, 3941 Tamiami Trail, about 11 minutes from the community's map pin (Publix; OSRM, our analysis). We found no full grocery on Burnt Store Road between the community and US 41 in the sources we read, and the county's Burnt Store Area Plan projects that by 2045 the corridor's population will support a neighborhood shopping center (Charlotte County, Burnt Store Area Plan). Plan on driving north toward US 41 for errands.
Directly south, a planned development of up to 999 homes and 195,000 square feet of commercial space, petition PD-25-13, won a 3-0 recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board on April 13, 2026; a County Commission decision was not found in the record as of October 2, 2026 (P&Z agenda, April 13, 2026). North of the community, the Tuckers Grade Extension from Burnt Store Road to US 41 is unfunded for final design, right-of-way and construction and is a $46,176,000 Tier 1 project on the November 3, 2026 sales tax extension list (Charlotte County, sales tax extension).
No. Turnleaf, directly north, is a separate master plan with its own district, the Coral Creek CDD, and its own association; Esplanade at Starling has the Starling CDD and Starling Homeowners Association (Charlotte County Petitions layer; Ordinance 2024-007). Coral Lakes, also to the north, is a third community with its own Coral Lakes CDD. Our Turnleaf guide covers it, and the two communities do not share amenities.
No. Taylor Morrison uses the Esplanade name on several Florida communities, and their fees, sizes, amenities and rules belong to those communities alone. This guide covers only Esplanade at Starling on Burnt Store Road, recorded by the county as Starling, with Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. as its one association (Florida Division of Corporations). When you read reviews or fee figures online, check that they name Esplanade at Starling in Punta Gorda.
Over the same window, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, Esplanade at Starling recorded 48 sales at a $540,850 median and Turnleaf 79 at a $350,000 median, per our Turnleaf guide. Esplanade at Starling is gated with one builder and an association estimate that includes lawn care; Turnleaf has four builders and a higher fiscal 2026 district total of $1,946.81 to $3,015.02. The decision table above sets out every factor.
They sit across Burnt Store Road from each other and differ in age and in kind. Our Heritage Landing guide describes a gated golf community of about 1,545 homes and condominiums, with 138 recorded sales from September 5, 2025 to August 31, 2026 at a $352,500 median, 108 of them resales. Esplanade at Starling's 48 recorded sales over its own window are all first sales of new homes, and it has no golf course; Heritage Landing's is the nearest.
You do not need one, but Taylor Morrison's sales team represents Taylor Morrison. Whether and how the builder works with a buyer's agent, including any commission, is set by the builder's own terms, so tell the sales center at your first visit that you are working with a realtor and ask for its policy in writing. Then request the Declaration, the association budget, your homesite's district class and an estoppel letter. Our buyer services page and Punta Gorda new construction guide explain how we help.
Ask for six documents. The recorded Declaration for Starling and any rules and regulations; the association's current budget and your annual dues; your homesite's district class and a district estoppel letter showing whether its Series 2025 debt was prepaid (Final Supplemental Methodology); the written warranty; any capital contribution or other charge due at closing; and the building permit, which shows the home's design wind speed. Add a lender's flood determination and a check of your address on Know Your Zone.
Selling an Esplanade at Starling home well means pricing it on Charlotte County's recorded sales, setting it honestly beside Taylor Morrison's own new homes on the next street, and answering the Starling district, association and flood questions before a buyer asks. McGreevy and Comisar, the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012, build every listing around those three.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026; recorded sales through the county file dated September 27, 2026, newest sale September 4, 2026).
If you're searching for the best Esplanade at Starling listing agent, or thinking, "I need to sell my house in Esplanade at Starling," you are choosing between a team that reads the market from a portal and a team that reads it from the record. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar price Esplanade at Starling homes against the county's recorded sales on the Starling plats, set them beside what Taylor Morrison is advertising from its sales center on Dove Drive, and put the Starling Community Development District assessment, the association paperwork and the flood map in front of a buyer before the buyer has to ask. For the wider Charlotte County picture, see our Punta Gorda home selling page.
In the 12 months from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, Charlotte County recorded 48 qualified sales of improved properties in Esplanade at Starling, at a median of $540,850, from a low of $305,000 to a high of $1,014,800 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Because the count is even, the median is the midpoint of the two middle sales, so it describes the middle of the market and is not the price of any one home. Each calendar window carries its own count. In 2025 the county recorded 14 sales at a median of $595,300. From January 1 to September 26, 2026 it recorded 38 sales at a median of $537,350. The calendar windows overlap the 12-month count and are never added together.
Of the 48 sales in the 12 months, 13 were from $300,000 to $399,999, 3 were from $400,000 to $499,999, 13 were from $500,000 to $599,999, 15 were from $600,000 to $799,999, 2 were from $800,000 to $999,999 and 2 were $1,000,000 or more. The highest recorded sale was $1,014,800 on Brent Lane, recorded July 24, 2026. The highest recorded prices sit on Brent Lane, Dove Drive and Victoria Place, and the lowest on Lark Court and Robin Avenue. Of the 48 sales, 36 carry a year built of 2025 on the county roll; the other 12 closed before the roll recorded a building, so we print no size for them and draw no conclusion about them.
Sale price band (48 recorded sales, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026; the $600,000 band is $200,000 wide) | Sales |
|---|---|
$300,000 to $399,999 | 13 |
$400,000 to $499,999 | 3 |
$500,000 to $599,999 | 13 |
$600,000 to $799,999 | 15 |
$800,000 to $999,999 | 2 |
$1,000,000 and up | 2 |
Because the county recorded far more than 10 sales in the 12-month window, we do not widen the window to 24, 36 or 60 months. The county record carries no days-on-market field, so a valuation here starts from recorded sales of comparable homes, matched by collection, plan, size and street.
Esplanade at Starling is young enough that its sales record is a record of one builder selling new homes. No Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet, so the 12-month record is first sales of new homes from the builder (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). That makes an owner's sale here different from a resale almost anywhere else in Punta Gorda. Your buyer is not choosing between your house and a neighbor's house. Your buyer is choosing between your finished home and a Taylor Morrison contract, often on a homesite a few doors away.
The scale of that competition is on the public record. Taylor Morrison is the only builder, and Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc still owns most of the parcels on the county roll dated September 27, 2026 (Charlotte County GIS, ownership layer). The county's January 2025 approval plans Esplanade at Starling as 774 single-family homesites in three phases (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171), 407 homesites are platted today (our count of the county roll), and a Phase 2 site plan of 131 single-family lots was approved in 2025 without a recorded plat as of October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-224). The roll lists 42 built homes, all from 2025, and the roll lags construction. A buyer touring your street may well have toured the model row on Dove Drive the same morning.
That comparison can work for you, and it has to be made honestly. A builder sells a plan, a homesite and a construction timeline, and its advertised price is a starting point, not a recorded sale. You sell a finished house on a known homesite, with a closing date you control, landscaping that has grown in, and something no new contract can offer: a year or more of real bills. The association's adopted budget was not available to us, so your own association statements and your district bill are the first actual numbers a buyer in this community can read. We set the two offers side by side in your listing plan: your recorded-sale comparables on one side, and the builder's dated marketing prices on the other, labelled as marketing. We never present a builder's advertised price as a recorded sale, and we never present a recorded sale as a builder's price.
Your buyers will see these figures before they see your listing. They are the advertised starting prices of each collection's plans, taken from Taylor Morrison's community page on October 2, 2026. They are marketing, not recorded sales, and not a floor under any Esplanade at Starling home's value (Taylor Morrison community page, builder marketing seen October 2, 2026).
Collection | Plans | Advertised "from" prices | Square feet |
|---|---|---|---|
42 Collection | Alta, Rivera, Vento | Alta from $313,999; Rivera from $343,999; Vento from $353,999 | 1,483 to 1,709 |
52 Collection | Monte, Marino, Lavello, Florence, Genoa | Monte from $377,999; Marino from $407,999; Lavello from $434,999; Florence from $505,999; Genoa from $532,999 | 1,843 to 2,903 |
62 Collection | Cresta, Cascata, Palermo, Colina, Argenta, Ravenna | Cresta from $457,999; Cascata from $477,999; Palermo from $514,999; Colina from $541,999; Argenta from $606,999; Ravenna from $626,999 | 2,475 to 4,591 |
A "from" price is the base plan on a standard homesite. The recorded sales above include whatever each first buyer chose: the homesite, the structural options and the finishes. That is why the two columns of evidence are never placed together as one number.
Start with our free home valuation and we will follow up with an Esplanade at Starling number built on recorded sales of comparable homes, adjusted for collection, plan, heated living area, homesite and options. Esplanade at Starling has 48 recorded sales in the last 12 months, enough to price your home from its own plat rather than from a neighboring community. For the wider market, our Punta Gorda home selling page explains how we list across the city.
Talk to Jesse direct: (239) 898-6072, text or call. Confidential conversations welcome.
Read our Esplanade at Starling seller guide for how we price, prepare and market a Esplanade at Starling home.
We start with the county's recorded sales and work outward in three steps. First, we pull the recorded sales on the Starling plats and sort them by collection, plan and size, because the 42 single-family homes on the roll range from 1,373 to 3,160 square feet of heated living area (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public parcel files, our analysis), and a buyer compares like with like. Second, we adjust for what differs: the homesite class (42, 52 or 62 foot), whether the home backs onto a stormwater lake, the options and finishes chosen at contract, upgrades added after closing, and where the home sits on its street. Third, we set the result beside what Taylor Morrison is advertising for the same collection, labelled as builder marketing. We do not borrow a price per square foot from another community, we print no price per square foot for this one, and we do not quote the community-wide median as your price.
Street matters here because the record shows it. The highest recorded prices are on Brent Lane, Dove Drive and Victoria Place, and the lowest on Lark Court and Robin Avenue (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The built homes on the roll sit on Victoria Place (16), Lark Court (9), Dove Drive (8), Dunlin Avenue (7) and Robin Avenue (2), so for now every comparable comes from those first streets, and a home on a newer street is priced from the closest match in collection and size.
A buyer reads your listing with the whole cost stack in mind, so we show it up front. Fiscal year 2027, which runs from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027, is the first year the Starling Community Development District levies assessments on homesites; earlier years were funded by the landowner (Starling CDD fiscal year 2026 budget). The adopted fiscal year 2027 budget lists $1,051.83 a year for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for a 52-foot homesite and $1,499.52 for a 62-foot homesite, of which $111.70 is operations and the rest is debt service on the Series 2025 bonds (Starling CDD fiscal year 2027 adopted budget). The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the operations assessment; only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home (Starling CDD, November 5, 2025 agenda, Final Supplemental Methodology).
The county tax bill carries the millage for tax district 121, which was 15.0855 mills for 2025 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2025 final rates), with 15.4046 mills proposed for 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, 2026 proposed rates). The county's MSBU records for a Starling home show Fire Rescue at $294.90 and solid waste at $335.51 per home, and South Charlotte Stormwater at $26.75 per acre of lot, for MSBU year 2027 (Charlotte County MSBU records). The district's 2025 draft bond offering document, using figures furnished by the developer, estimates association fees of $4,459 to $4,699 a year including lawn maintenance, subject to change (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda). The association's adopted budget was not available to us, and any capital contribution, transfer fee or estoppel fee is unpublished, so we take those from your association statement.
Some things a seller expects to read are not in the public record we reviewed, and we would rather say so than guess. The recorded Declaration, which sets the association's rules on signs, rentals, pets, vehicles, age and resale, was not available to us; it sits in the Charlotte County Clerk's Official Records (Charlotte County Clerk, Official Records). The association's adopted budget and its estoppel and transfer fees are unpublished. Listing-pace figures such as days on market: Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). We obtained no homeowners or flood insurance quotes for any Esplanade at Starling address. For each gap, the document that closes it is named in the answers below, and we collect it as part of your listing.
An Esplanade at Starling listing follows the same arc as any Southwest Florida sale, with a few community-specific checks built in. We begin with the valuation and a written pricing plan built on recorded sales. Next we collect the paperwork: your district bill or tax bill with the Starling line, the district's estoppel letter showing whether your Series 2025 debt was prepaid, the association documents and statements, your Taylor Morrison purchase agreement and warranty papers, and your closing papers from the purchase. Then we prepare the home and write the listing so that the marketed name, the plat name and the district name all appear correctly. We arrange gate access for showings, inspectors and appraisers through the association's procedure. Once a buyer is under contract, the buyer's title company requests the association's estoppel certificate, the buyer's lender orders its appraisal and flood determination, and we track each deadline on your behalf until the closing. At each stage we send you the numbers in writing.
Esplanade at Starling is Taylor Morrison's name for the gated community the county records as Starling (Charlotte County GIS, subdivisions layer). The recorded plats are Starling Phase 1 (Plat Book 27, Page 15), Phase 1 Replat 1 (Plat Book 28, Page 4) and Phase 1 Replat 2 (Plat Book 28, Page 19), the district is the Starling Community Development District, and the association is Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.). Taylor Morrison uses the Esplanade name on several Florida communities, so a listing that says only "Esplanade" sends buyers to the wrong place. We write "Esplanade at Starling, Punta Gorda," name Burnt Store Road, and state that the home is in unincorporated Charlotte County with a Punta Gorda mailing address, ZIP 33955; the appraiser record reads "In City of Punta Gorda: NO" (Charlotte County Property Appraiser, parcel record). If a buyer is also weighing the community next door, our Turnleaf page and Heritage Landing page cover those on their own terms.
Once your Esplanade at Starling home is on the market, you will hear from us on a set rhythm and whenever something changes. We report showings and feedback, we update the comparable sales as the county records new ones, and we tell you plainly when Taylor Morrison's advertised prices or its amenity status change, because that is what your buyers see. When an offer arrives, we explain every term in writing, including who pays for what at closing, before you decide. Your net sheet is updated at each step, so the proceeds you expect are the proceeds you receive, minus only what is itemized.
The ones on the same plats, matched by collection, plan, size and street. In the 12 months to September 26, 2026, Charlotte County recorded 48 sales in Esplanade at Starling, and 15 of them sold between $600,000 and $799,999 while 13 sold between $300,000 and $399,999 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The county file does not record collection, so we match each home to sales of the same plan and size rather than to the community-wide spread. Buyers also look at Taylor Morrison's advertised prices, so we show those separately, never as recorded prices.
Your most recent Starling district bill or county tax bill, your Taylor Morrison purchase agreement and any addenda, your warranty papers, your closing statement from the purchase, any association statements and notices, a survey if you have one, and any wind mitigation inspection form. Florida's form and guidance are on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation wind mitigation page. The recorded Declaration was not available to us, so we ask for your copy and check it against the county's Official Records before the first showing.
Yes. We manage showings, gate access, vendor visits, inspections, association paperwork and the closing remotely, with closing documents handled by mail and e-signature through the title company. Because the buyer's title company requests the association's estoppel certificate and the district's estoppel letter, most steps run by email, and we arrange a local contact for the house while it is listed. Your Declaration and the association's rules decide what upkeep a vacant home still needs, and lawn maintenance is included in the association estimate (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda).
Esplanade at Starling is gated (builder marketing), and the county's site plan conditions require gate arms with an emergency EVAC system (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156). The gate rules themselves sit in the association's documents, which were not available to us, so before the first showing we confirm in writing how the association admits visiting buyers, inspectors and appraisers. Every appointment is then scheduled with the gate step built in, so no buyer waits at Burnt Store Road.
In the Charlotte County Clerk's Official Records, which hold the recorded Declaration and any amendments (Charlotte County Clerk, Official Records), and from the association itself. Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. (Sunbiz N24000006543) was filed in June 2024 and is active as of October 2, 2026, and no sub-association or master association was found (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.). We request the documents at the start of a listing.
They ask how big the community will get and what that means for the district. The county plans 774 single-family homesites in three phases, and the zoning allows up to 1,440 homes (Charlotte County, DRC-24-171). A Phase 2 site plan of 131 lots was approved in 2025 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-224), and the district's 2025 draft bond document says it intends to issue more bonds for later work (Starling CDD, August 15, 2025 agenda). We give buyers those facts as written, with no forecast attached.
McGreevy and Comisar are the Southwest Florida team Esplanade at Starling owners call when a new home must be priced on the record and set honestly against the builder beside it. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar have been Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and lead the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012.
As the leaders of Domain Realty Group our team has closed over $2.5 billion in real estate, and McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in Sales. RealTrends ranked Domain Realty Group the #5 real estate team in Florida for 2026, on 241 transactions and more than $157 million in volume, and the #1 team in Bonita Springs by sales volume and by transaction sides. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar bring over 45 years of combined direct experience between them. Read more about our team.
Meet Jesse McGreevy, who leads the team's listing and seller strategy, and Marc Comisar, who leads buyer representation and negotiation. Selling an Esplanade at Starling home? Get a free home valuation or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072. Buying in Esplanade at Starling? Call Marc at (239) 287-5873, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.
Jesse McGreevy is a top-reviewed Esplanade at Starling realtor, and the reviews on the team's Google Business Profile describe what an Esplanade at Starling seller or buyer needs most: honest pricing, a firm hand with the builder, clear communication, and a team that keeps following through after the contract.
★★★★★ "Jesse listened to what we were looking for and found us exactly what we wanted. Jesse was always available to answer any questions and helped us through the entire process." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Their professionalism, communication, and dedication to their clients truly stand out. They have a deep caring and true concern for all their client needs." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "After my father's unexpected passing, my family faced the difficult task of selling my mom's home in Bonita Springs. We were fortunate to work with Marc Comisar." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "So knowledgeable! You can tell they truly have a high level of expertise and were incredibly professional from start to finish." Verified Google review
★★★★★ "Marc made an extremely stressful time of selling my parents' house easier because of his expertise, compassion, and diligence. I cannot thank him enough and I would recommend him without reservation." Verified Google review
Jesse McGreevy (Sales Associate) and Marc Comisar (Broker Associate) are licensed Florida REALTORS® with Domain Realty; Florida real estate licensure is regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC).
Florida license numbers: Jesse McGreevy SL3101296 and Marc Comisar BK3060671.
McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team. Learn more about our team at DomainRealtyGroup.com.
Esplanade at Starling sellers ask about price, competing with Taylor Morrison's new homes, the Starling district assessment and its prepaid debt, association paperwork, flood and insurance, warranties and what a sale costs. Each answer draws on the county record or a posted document, and where a figure is not published we say so and name the document that holds it.
Data updated: October 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis, sales recorded September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026; Starling CDD fiscal year 2027 adopted budget and FEMA flood panel 12015C0409G, read October 2, 2026).
The best listing agent for an Esplanade at Starling home is one who prices it from the county's recorded sales, positions it honestly against the builder still selling new homes beside it, and handles the district estoppel, the association estoppel and the flood file without delay. McGreevy and Comisar have been Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008 and lead the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012. Judge any agent by the plan they bring: ask to see the comparables, the builder comparison and the net sheet before you sign.
Recorded sales set the range, and your home's collection, plan, size, homesite and options set the number. In the 12 months to September 26, 2026, Charlotte County recorded 48 sales in Esplanade at Starling at a median of $540,850, from $305,000 to $1,014,800 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). That median is the midpoint of all 48 first sales, not the value of yours. Start with our free home valuation, and we will send an Esplanade at Starling number built on the closest comparables.
Charlotte County recorded 48 qualified sales of improved properties in Esplanade at Starling from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). By calendar window, it recorded 14 sales in 2025 at a median of $595,300 and 38 sales from January 1 to September 26, 2026 at a median of $537,350. The windows overlap the 12-month count, so they are never added together. The newest sale in the county file dated September 27, 2026 was recorded September 4, 2026.
The 12-month median was $540,850 on 48 recorded sales from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). With an even number of sales, the median is the midpoint of the two middle sales, so no single home sold at exactly that price. The calendar medians were $595,300 on 14 sales in 2025 and $537,350 on 38 sales from January 1 to September 26, 2026. Each window carries its own count, and the windows are never averaged.
Two bands hold most of the sales. Of the 48 recorded sales from September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, 15 were from $600,000 to $799,999, a band $200,000 wide, and 13 were from $500,000 to $599,999. Another 13 were from $300,000 to $399,999, 3 were from $400,000 to $499,999, 2 were from $800,000 to $999,999 and 2 were $1,000,000 or more (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). A band shows where sales cluster; your price still depends on your plan and homesite.
The highest recorded sale in the 12 months to September 26, 2026 was $1,014,800 on Brent Lane, recorded July 24, 2026 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The county roll does not yet carry a year built or a living area for that home, so we print no size for it. Two of the 48 sales were $1,000,000 or more, so the top band is thin, and we price a home in that range against its closest comparables rather than against the top sale.
The highest recorded prices are on Brent Lane, Dove Drive and Victoria Place, and the lowest on Lark Court and Robin Avenue (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). We print no median by street, because the counts per street are small and a street average hides the plan and homesite differences that drive price. The built homes on the roll are on Victoria Place, Lark Court, Dove Drive, Dunlin Avenue and Robin Avenue, so those streets supply most of today's comparables.
Not in the county record. No Esplanade at Starling home has a second recorded sale yet, so the 12-month record is first sales of new homes from the builder (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). The first recorded home sales came in 2025, and every built home on the roll dates from 2025. An owner who lists now is among the first resellers, which is why we price from the builder's recorded first sales and show the builder's current marketing beside them, each labelled for what it is.
By selling what a contract cannot: a finished home on a known homesite, a closing date you control, and real bills a buyer can read. Taylor Morrison is the only builder and still owns most of the parcels on the county roll (Charlotte County GIS, ownership layer). Its plans are advertised from $313,999 for the Alta to $626,999 for the Ravenna (Taylor Morrison community page, builder marketing seen October 2, 2026). We set your listing beside those offers, never under them as a floor.
Yes, the public record we reviewed sets no minimum ownership period. Your Taylor Morrison purchase agreement and the recorded Declaration may add terms, and the Declaration was not available to us, so we read both with you before we list. The tax side of a quick sale depends on your purchase price, your use of the home and how long you owned it, and a CPA or tax attorney is the right person to run those numbers before you accept an offer.
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The county's recorded sales carry no days-on-market field, and because every recorded sale so far is a builder's first sale, there is no resale pace to measure yet. The newest sale in the county file was recorded September 4, 2026. When we price your Esplanade at Starling home we bring listing pace for comparable homes to the meeting, and we count back from the date you need to close so the listing, the inspection and the estoppel paperwork all fit.
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02) for a month-by-month pattern in Esplanade at Starling. The record that would hold one is several years of monthly recorded sales, and the community's first recorded home sales date from 2025. We make no seasonality claim. Count back from the date you need to close, list early enough to cover the inspection, both estoppel requests and the buyer's lender timeline, and we will shape the plan around your home.
Sellers and buyers each pay certain costs, and the contract decides most of the split. On an Esplanade at Starling sale the seller's side usually covers the owner's title policy, which sellers customarily pay in Charlotte County, the seller's share of the year's county tax bill and district assessment by proration, any association amounts owed, the closing company's seller fees, and whatever the listing agreement and the contract say about the real estate fee and repairs. The capital contribution, transfer fee and estoppel fee are unpublished, so we confirm each from the association before you accept an offer.
In Charlotte County the seller customarily pays for the owner's title insurance policy, and the contract controls. The owner's policy protects the buyer against defects in the title to the home. On an Esplanade at Starling resale, the title search also picks up the recorded Notice of Series 2025 Assessments for the Starling district and any association amounts owed (Starling CDD, January 7, 2026 agenda). We read the contract's closing section with you before you sign and put the cost on your net sheet.
It is the association's signed statement of what is owed on your home as of a date. Florida Statutes section 720.30851 requires an association to issue the certificate within 10 business days of a written or electronic request from an owner, a mortgagee or their designee, and sets out what it must contain, including the regular assessment, the date it is paid through and other amounts owed (Florida Statutes, s. 720.30851). On an Esplanade at Starling sale, the buyer's title company relies on it to clear the association's lien.
Section 720.30851 caps the fee an association may charge to prepare and deliver the certificate, and the purchase contract decides who bears it at closing (Florida Statutes, s. 720.30851). Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02) for the Starling Homeowners Association's own estoppel fee, because the certificate is produced only when a sale is in progress. We order it early and show the amount on your net sheet, and the Starling district's estoppel letter is a separate request to the district manager.
No. The Series 2025 debt assessment stays with the homesite unless it is paid off, and a buyer takes over the annual installment. The district's one bond issue, $12,530,000 of Series 2025 bonds, closed in November 2025 and is repaid through May 1, 2056, and prepayment is allowed (Starling CDD, November 5, 2025 agenda, Final Supplemental Methodology). A payoff amount for your home comes from the district manager, Wrathell, Hunt and Associates (Starling CDD, about the district), and the contract decides who pays it.
As one line in the cost of ownership, shown by homesite class and fiscal year. For fiscal year 2027 the adopted budget lists $1,051.83 for a 42-foot homesite, $1,275.68 for a 52-foot homesite and $1,499.52 for a 62-foot homesite, each combining $111.70 of operations with Series 2025 debt service (Starling CDD fiscal year 2027 adopted budget). The budget expects to bill the assessment directly, and the district's notice says some developed homes may see it on the county tax bill instead (Starling CDD, August 5, 2026 agenda). We show your bill.
Yes, and the answer can change what a buyer pays each year. The district's methodology says Taylor Morrison intends to prepay the Series 2025 debt assessment on Phase 1 homes at closing, so some homes may carry only the operations assessment (Starling CDD, November 5, 2025 agenda, Final Supplemental Methodology). Only a district estoppel letter settles it for a specific home, so we request yours from the district manager before we list and put the answer in the listing file.
The statutory wording does not have to. Florida Statutes section 190.048 requires the bold district disclosure in each contract for the initial sale of a parcel or residential unit in a community development district (Florida Statutes, s. 190.048), which is the sale you made with Taylor Morrison. A resale is not an initial sale, but a buyer still needs the facts, so we disclose the Starling district, its fiscal year 2027 assessment for your homesite class and the estoppel letter's answer on prepayment in writing, before an offer is signed.
Two statutes matter on an Esplanade at Starling sale. Section 689.302 requires a seller of residential real property to complete a flood disclosure and give it to the buyer at or before the time the contract is signed (Florida Statutes, s. 689.302). Section 720.401 requires a prospective owner in a mandatory homeowners association community to receive a disclosure summary before signing the contract (Florida Statutes, s. 720.401). Your closing agent can confirm which other forms apply, and we prepare both with you.
The statutory flood disclosure asks about history rather than the map. Under section 689.302 you state whether you know of flooding that damaged the property during your ownership, whether you filed a flood insurance claim, including with the National Flood Insurance Program, and whether you received federal flood assistance, including from FEMA (Florida Statutes, s. 689.302). We also put the FEMA map designation for your Esplanade at Starling homesite in the listing file, because buyers and lenders ask.
It changes what a lender reads, and we state it as a fact rather than a price effect. Every lot on the Starling plats is in FEMA flood zone D on the current map, panel 12015C0409G, effective December 15, 2022. Zone D is not a Special Flood Hazard Area on that map, and the map gives no Base Flood Elevation (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, flood hazard zones). Next door, Turnleaf's May 2026 FEMA map revision moved former Zone D land to zones AE and X; no comparable revision covers any Starling lot as of October 2, 2026 (FEMA, LOMR 25-04-4878P).
Generally yes when the policy is bought with a mortgage. FloodSmart explains that the National Flood Insurance Program's usual waiting period does not apply when flood insurance is purchased in connection with making a mortgage (FloodSmart, buying a policy). Citizens requires flood coverage on homes with a replacement cost of $400,000 or more for policies from January 1, 2026, and on all personal residential policies from January 1, 2027 (Florida Statutes, s. 627.351). We tell buyers to request quotes early.
It does not stop a sale, and buyers ask about it. County evacuation zones split Esplanade at Starling: of 457 parcels, 239 are in Zone D and 218 in Zone C, and all 42 built homes are in Zone D (Charlotte County GIS, evacuation zones). We look up your address on Charlotte County's Know Your Zone page and put the answer in the listing file, so a buyer reads the zone for your home and not a guess.
We make no claim about its effect on price. The county approved the Starling Amenity Center program in March 2025 (Charlotte County, DRC-24-156). As of October 2, 2026, Taylor Morrison lists the dog park, tennis and pickleball as open, the pool as coming soon, the Bahama Bar as planned and The Venue clubhouse as slated to open in early 2027 (Taylor Morrison community page, builder marketing seen October 2, 2026). Your listing states that status in those words, dated.
We give no forecast either way, because the record cannot support one. What we can do is set out what changes and what does not. The clubhouse opening date is the builder's statement, not a county record. The builder will keep selling new homes whether you list now or later, since it owns most of the parcels on the roll. Your own timeline, your next home and your net proceeds decide the date, and we price on the recorded sales in force on the day you list.
We state the record and make no prediction. Directly south, a planned development of up to 999 homes and 195,000 square feet of commercial space won a 3-0 recommendation from the county's Planning and Zoning Board on April 13, 2026; a County Commission decision was not found in the record as of October 2, 2026 (Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board agenda, April 13, 2026). Buyers ask about it, so we put the petition and its status in the listing file.
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The recorded Declaration for Starling was not available to us; it controls rentals, pets, vehicles, age rules and resale. The route to read it is the Charlotte County Clerk's Official Records, searching for the Starling Declaration recorded by Taylor Morrison of Florida Inc (Charlotte County Clerk, Official Records), or your own closing package from Taylor Morrison. We read it with you before we list, so any approval or notice step is built into the plan.
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02) for the leasing rules, because they sit in the recorded Declaration and the association's rules, which were not available to us. Before you decide between renting and selling, read the Declaration's leasing section and any rules on minimum terms or approvals. The association, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc., is the body that applies those rules (Florida Division of Corporations, Starling Homeowners Association, Inc.).
We answer with the Esplanade at Starling record, not a forecast. The 2025 calendar median was $595,300 on 14 sales, and the January 1 to September 26, 2026 median was $537,350 on 38 sales (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis). Those are different mixes of plans and homesites from one builder, not a measured change in the value of any home, so we draw no trend from them. Your price is set by the closest recorded comparables to your plan.
Information not available at time of publishing (checked 2026-10-02). The measures that answer it, inventory and listing pace, come from listing data rather than the county's recorded sales, and they were not part of this page. In Esplanade at Starling the more useful question is how many new homes the builder is offering against yours, and that changes week to week, so we check Taylor Morrison's current marketing on the day we price your home and again as the listing runs.
We market it as the finished alternative to a contract. That means professional photography of the home as it lives, a listing that names the collection, plan and homesite class, the cost stack with the district line for your class, the amenity status in dated words, and the flood and evacuation facts for your address. Buyers in a builder community often start at the sales center on Dove Drive, so we make sure your listing answers the questions a buyer brings back from that visit.
No law requires one, and many owners still use one because of what a builder community adds. A listing agent prices from recorded sales, positions the home against the builder's offers, gathers the district and association estoppels, checks the purchase agreement for resale terms, manages gated showings, negotiates and coordinates the closing. In Esplanade at Starling, that also means confirming whether your Series 2025 debt was prepaid. We report to you on every step.
Florida law requires a builder to warrant a newly constructed home for one year against construction defects that result in a material violation of the Florida Building Code, and the builder must honor that full one-year period even if the home is sold (Florida Statutes, s. 553.837). A builder's express written warranty can take its place if it meets the statute's terms, including automatic transfer during at least the first year. Anything longer is set by your warranty document, so we read it with you.
The exemption does not move, but the tax saving it built up may. The Florida Department of Revenue explains that a homeowner may be able to transfer, or port, all or part of the Save Our Homes assessment difference to a new Florida homestead (Florida Department of Revenue, homestead exemption and portability). Under the statute, the owner must have received a homestead exemption on the prior home as of January 1 of any of the 3 immediately preceding years, and the amount ported is capped at $500,000 (Florida Statutes, s. 193.155). Apply through the Charlotte County Property Appraiser.
Compare each on its own record. In the same 12-month window, September 27, 2025 to September 26, 2026, Esplanade at Starling had 48 recorded sales at a median of $540,850 (Charlotte County Property Appraiser public sales files, our analysis), and our Turnleaf page reports 79 recorded sales at a median of $350,000. Turnleaf sellers face four builders; Esplanade at Starling sellers face one. Our Heritage Landing page reports 138 sales on a different window. We never subtract one median from another, and we price your home on its own plat.
The association's side of a sale runs through the estoppel certificate, which the buyer's title company requests once there is a contract, and through any approval or notice the recorded Declaration requires (Florida Statutes, s. 720.30851). The Declaration was not available to us, so we confirm any approval step with the association in writing before listing. Your buyer must also receive the association disclosure summary before signing (Florida Statutes, s. 720.401), and we prepare it with you.
Yes. Developer control of the association does not stop an owner from selling. The association's officers on the state record also sit on the district board, whose members are Taylor Morrison employees, and no turnover date was found (Starling CDD, May 1, 2024 minutes). A landowners' election for three district seats is set for November 3, 2026, and residents begin electing seats only after six years and once the district has 250 qualified electors (Starling CDD).
The real estate fee is set in the listing agreement and is negotiable, and we explain every term in writing before you sign. We do not publish a figure on this page because the right structure depends on your home, your timeline and the services you need. For a direct answer, call or text Jesse at (239) 898-6072. Confidential conversations are welcome, and our free home valuation shows what your Esplanade at Starling home may sell for first.
We do not give tax advice, and the answer depends on your situation. What you owe on a sale can depend on what you paid Taylor Morrison, what you added after closing, how long you owned the home, how you used it and the rules in effect for the year of sale, and a CPA or tax attorney is the right person to run those numbers. We can give your advisor the recorded sale figures, your closing statement and the timeline early, so the question is answered before you accept an offer.
Start with a conversation and a valuation. Our Punta Gorda home selling page explains how we list across the city, and for Esplanade at Starling we add the builder comparison, the Starling district line and prepayment check, and the association layer described above. McGreevy and Comisar alone have over $900 million in Sales, we lead the #1 team in Southwest Florida since 2012, and Jesse and Marc are ranked among the Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008. For how new homes are bought locally, read our new construction guide for Punta Gorda.
Get your number first. Start with the free home valuation, titled What Is Your Esplanade at Starling Home Worth? Get a Free Valuation in 60 Seconds. It takes about a minute, and there is no obligation. After that we confirm your homesite class and whether your Series 2025 debt was prepaid, request the association documents and compare your recorded-sale comparables with Taylor Morrison's current offers. To talk first, call or text Jesse at (239) 898-6072. Confidential conversations are welcome.
Every figure on this Esplanade at Starling page traces to a primary source below: the Charlotte County Property Appraiser, Charlotte County government, the Starling Community Development District, FEMA, state agencies and newspapers of record. Market figures come from Charlotte County recorded sales. Builder and developer pages are cited for product and pricing only.
Charlotte County Property Appraiser
Charlotte County ordinances, petitions and decision letters
Starling Community Development District
Charlotte County GIS
Charlotte County roads, utilities, parks, assessments and emergency management
State of Florida
Federal agencies
Schools and healthcare
Regional agencies, parks, shopping and visitor information
Developer and builder marketing (product and pricing only)
News, trade press and reference
These Esplanade at Starling documents are published by Charlotte County, the Starling Community Development District, FEMA, Charlotte County Public Schools and the State of Florida. Each link opens the issuer's own copy. Community rules come from the recorded Declaration, which you can request through the Charlotte County Clerk's Official Records or the association.
Document | Publisher | Link |
|---|---|---|
Ordinance 2021-036, petition PD-21-00010 (current planned development zoning, up to 1,440 homes) | Charlotte County | |
Decision letter DRC-24-171 (Starling Phase 1 planned development modification, 774 planned homesites) | Charlotte County | |
Decision letter DRC-24-156 (Starling Amenity Center final site plan) | Charlotte County | |
Ordinance 2024-007 establishing the Starling Community Development District, with petition | Starling Community Development District | |
Starling CDD fiscal year 2027 adopted budget | Starling Community Development District | |
Series 2025 bonds: final supplemental special assessment methodology report, November 5, 2025 agenda package | Starling Community Development District | |
Series 2025 bonds: closing resolution and disclosure of public financing, January 7, 2026 agenda package | Starling Community Development District | |
Flood Insurance Rate Map panel 12015C0409G, effective December 15, 2022 | Federal Emergency Management Agency | |
Letter of Map Revision 25-04-4878P (Turnleaf Phase 1 As-Built, next door; covers no Starling lot) | Federal Emergency Management Agency | |
Starling Homeowners Association, Inc. filing record (N24000006543) | Florida Division of Corporations | |
Know Your Zone, hurricane evacuation zones | Charlotte County Emergency Management | |
School Boundary Locator | Charlotte County Public Schools |
County sales data from the Charlotte County Property Appraiser, pulled September 2026. McGreevy and Comisar, Best Realtor for Esplanade at Starling. Brokered by Domain Realty. Jesse McGreevy, FL Lic. SL3101296 · Marc Comisar, FL Lic. BK3060671.
Thinking about buying or selling in Southwest Florida? Tell us what you are trying to do and we will tell you honestly what it will take. McGreevy and Comisar, Domain Realty Group.
