Taylor Morrison’s premium 55+ offering on the rolling hills of Clermont — 475 single-family homes on 579 acres with natural gas service, a resort-style pool with cabanas, and a doggie concierge that residents mention unprompted. One of the few communities in Central Florida where you can cook on a gas range. Here is what it costs and what it competes against.
Esplanade at Highland Ranch is a gated 55+ community in Clermont, Florida, built by Taylor Morrison between 2014 and 2022. The community is fully built out at 475 single-family homes across 579 acres — a generous land-to-home ratio that produces larger lots and more natural space than typical Central Florida density.
The setting on Clermont’s rolling hills is genuinely distinctive. Lake County’s terrain is unlike the flat landscape that defines most of Florida — the hills create sightlines, lake views, and a topographic variety that buyers from the Northeast and Midwest consistently cite as a comfort factor. The community sits near Old Highway 50 West, with convenient access to the Florida Turnpike and Winter Garden without being directly on a high-traffic arterial.
Natural gas is the community’s most-cited differentiator. All-electric construction is the default in Central Florida — finding a 55+ community with natural gas service for cooking and heating is genuinely unusual. Buyers who cook seriously, prefer gas ranges, or want gas fireplace options will find Esplanade’s utility infrastructure a meaningful advantage over every-electric communities like Del Webb Sunbridge or Kings Ridge.
| HOA Fee | ~$350/month — covers clubhouse, resort pool, fitness center, dog park, and community maintenance. Higher than most Clermont competitors but reflects Taylor Morrison’s amenity standard. |
| CDD Assessment | Minimal to none — construction era and Taylor Morrison’s financing structure typically avoid major CDD burden. Verify specific parcel with seller’s tax bill. |
| Property Tax County | Lake County — approximately 0.85% effective rate, lowest in the Orlando metro |
| Property Tax on $475K Home | ~$4,038/year (~$337/month) before homestead exemption |
| After Homestead Exemption | ~$3,600/year (~$300/month) |
| Golf | No on-site golf — nearest courses 10–20 minutes. Not a golf-centric community. |
| Natural Gas | Available for cooking, heating, fireplace — monthly gas bill adds ~$30–$80/month depending on usage but reduces electric bills proportionally |
| Home Insurance (est.) | $1,900–$3,200/year — Clermont’s inland Lake County location typically produces lower insurance rates than coastal or Disney-corridor communities |
| Cost Item | Monthly Estimate |
|---|---|
| HOA Fee | ~$350 |
| Property Tax (after homestead) | ~$300 |
| Homeowner’s Insurance | ~$217 |
| Total Non-Mortgage Monthly | ~$867/month |
Does not include mortgage, utilities, or natural gas costs. No significant CDD burden expected — verify before closing.
Most of Central Florida’s 55+ communities run all-electric. Natural gas infrastructure is expensive to install and most builders default to electric for simplicity. Esplanade at Highland Ranch is one of the few 55+ communities in the Orlando metro with natural gas service — enabling gas ranges, gas water heaters, gas fireplaces, and gas dryers. For buyers who have cooked with gas their entire adult lives and find induction or electric cooking fundamentally unsatisfying, this single feature eliminates a significant compromise. It also provides utility bill diversification — natural gas rates and electric rates don’t move in perfect correlation, which offers some cost stability over time.
The doggie concierge is real and residents love it. Esplanade’s on-site dog park and concierge pet services are cited by current residents more consistently than almost any other amenity. For buyers with dogs — a significant portion of the 55+ demographic — the community’s pet-friendly infrastructure is a genuine differentiator in a market where many communities have nominal dog parks and nothing more.
475 homes is an intentionally smaller community. Compared to Kings Ridge (2,088 homes) or Solivita (5,900 homes), Esplanade’s scale produces a markedly different social dynamic. Residents know most of their neighbors. HOA board elections matter. Amenity programming is proportional — not the overwhelming activity calendar of a mega-community but a steady, manageable social infrastructure. This is a preference variable: buyers who want to know everyone on a first-name basis will prefer Esplanade’s scale. Buyers who want anonymity and activity options will prefer something larger.
Taylor Morrison construction quality is above national builder average in this era. Homes built between 2014 and 2022 reflect Taylor Morrison’s transition toward higher-end standard finishes — taller ceilings, more standard upgrades than comparable Pulte or D.R. Horton product from the same period. Resale buyers should still inspect thoroughly, but the baseline quality expectation is higher than many competitors.
No golf means a lower HOA baseline but golf is nearby. Esplanade’s $350 HOA does not include golf — no on-site course. This is higher than Kings Ridge’s $310 HOA but Kings Ridge includes two 18-hole courses. For non-golfers, Esplanade offers better amenity-to-price value. For golfers, Kings Ridge’s golf-inclusive model is better math.
Lake County’s 0.85% tax rate is the best in the metro. Every community in Lake County shares this tax advantage over Osceola and Polk County communities. On a $475K home, the Lake County rate saves approximately $380/year compared to Osceola and $475/year compared to Polk. Over 20 years, those savings compound significantly.
| Orlando Health South Lake Hospital | ~10 minutes east — Clermont, closest hospital |
| AdventHealth Winter Garden | ~20 minutes northeast |
| Florida Turnpike | ~10 minutes — connects quickly to I-4, MCO, Tampa |
| Walt Disney World | ~25 minutes east |
| Orlando International Airport | ~45 minutes via Florida Turnpike |
| Downtown Orlando | ~40 minutes via SR-50 |
| West Orange Trail (cycling) | ~15 minutes — 22-mile paved recreational trail |
| Gulf Coast (Tampa) | ~75 minutes west via Florida Turnpike |
We can run your Esplanade cost analysis, Lake County tax math, and natural gas vs all-electric utility comparison before you schedule any tours.