Nocatee CDD Fee — The Complete Explanation

A Community Development District (CDD) is a special-purpose government entity that was created to finance the infrastructure of a master-planned community. When Nocatee was developed, roads, utilities, parks, water management systems, and common infrastructure were financed through CDD bonds — bonds repaid by homeowners within the district via annual assessments on their property tax bill. Every home within Nocatee — including Del Webb Nocatee and Del Webb Ponte Vedra — carries a CDD assessment. Del Webb eTown and Del Webb Sweetwater are in Duval County outside the Nocatee CDD and carry no CDD fee. The annual CDD assessment at Nocatee typically runs $1,500–$3,500/year depending on lot size, phase, and the specific CDD district. It appears as a separate line item on your St. Johns County property tax bill — separate from your property tax and separate from your HOA. It is not optional. It is not included in your HOA. Brokers and sellers are required to disclose CDD fees, but they are frequently understated or buried in paperwork. The CDD assessment is not permanent in the sense that bonds eventually mature — typically 20–30 years from bond issuance. However, as old bonds retire, CDDs sometimes issue new bonds for improvements, keeping the assessment ongoing. Do not assume the CDD fee will end during your ownership horizon without verifying the specific bond maturity schedule with the St. Johns County CDD office. The CDD fee affects resale: when you sell, buyers will factor the annual CDD cost into their offer. A $2,500/year CDD assessment reduces the effective value of your home relative to an equivalent home outside the CDD. For a $600K Nocatee home, buyers will sometimes discount offers by $20,000–$40,000 relative to a no-CDD equivalent to account for 15+ years of future CDD payments. Plan for this when evaluating the true total cost of Nocatee ownership.