Page 16 of the Kingston One Community Development District's FY2027 budget is a single assessment table, and one column header matters most. For each lot size it gives two totals, one labeled "After Paydown" and one labeled "Before Paydown." On a 52-foot single-family lot, the most common lot size in the table, the first total is $1,872.34 a year. The second is $5,450.45.
That budget is dated Aug. 19, 2026, about two months before Kingston's model homes opened to the public on Saturday, Oct. 17, with all four builders showing. The Corkscrew Road project has drawn plenty of coverage, including a News-Press drone tour published Oct. 16. Most of that coverage starts with the sticker prices. For a buyer weighing Kingston against a resale elsewhere in Estero, the more useful figure is the recurring one. The budget shows that this figure has already been reduced once, and that it hasn't been set at all for most of the homes the district plans to serve.
The Sticker Prices Are the Easy Part
The advertised entry points are competitive. Lennar's Kingston South collections start at $329,999 for villas, $429,999 for Executive homes, $509,999 for Manor homes and $609,999 for Estate homes. Neal Communities lists a villa plan from $347,990 and a single-family plan from $399,990. Taylor Morrison says Esplanade at Kingston is selling from $369,900, and a separate Esplanade condo offering is described as coming in late 2026 from the mid-$300s. Builder pricing changes often, so treat all of these as snapshots.
Behind those prices sits a special district. According to the Kingston One CDD, it is an independent special-purpose government established under Lee County Ordinance 23-26, which took effect Oct. 24, 2023. Its FY2027 budget lists Special Assessment Bonds, Series 2025, with a par value of $84,000,000. Bonds like these pay for infrastructure up front and get repaid through annual assessments on the lots.
What "After Paydown" Is Doing to the Number
The published annual assessments for Series 2025 Assessment Area One run from $1,244.68 for a condo to $2,563.83 for a 72-foot lot. Each of those is the after-paydown figure. The same row also carries the before-paydown total.
| Product | After paydown, FY2027 | Before paydown, FY2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Condo | $1,244.68 | $2,511.38 |
| Single family, 36' | $1,319.15 | $3,796.30 |
| Single family, 45' | $1,630.32 | $4,726.76 |
| Single family, 52' | $1,872.34 | $5,450.45 |
| Single family, 62' | $2,218.09 | $6,484.29 |
| Single family, 72' | $2,563.83 | $7,518.14 |
Almost the entire gap sits in the debt-service line. On the 52-foot lot, debt service is $1,690.00 per unit after the paydown and $5,053.42 before it. The operations and maintenance charge stays at $70.00 in both versions. So the lower figure comes from bond principal that was paid down. It doesn't mean the district costs less to run. The budget doesn't say who made the paydown or how it was structured, and that's a fair question for anyone holding a contract.
The FY2027 after-paydown totals match FY2026 exactly, with a $0.00 change on every Area One row. They also include Lee County collection costs and the statutory early-payment discount. A buyer who pays late or misses the early window will see a somewhat different bill.
Seven in Ten Planned Homes Sit in the Unpriced Tier
Below Area One, the same page has a second block labeled "Future Bond Series 2." Each lot type in that block shows $74.47 a year, which is the $70.00 O&M charge plus $4.47 in collection costs. Debt service is $0.00.
The unit counts are what make this block matter. Area One totals 1,208 units. The Future Bond Series 2 block totals 2,857. Of the 4,065 units in the table, about 70% sit in the tier with no debt figure yet. The budget's own footnote says "debt service per unit, lot product type, lot product mix, and future bond series to be determined."
That $74.47 shouldn't be read as the long-term cost of a home in the second tier. It's what the district charges before a second bond exists. The table doesn't tie its lot classes to specific Lennar, Pulte, Neal or Taylor Morrison homesites either. Two buyers touring the same model could end up in different assessment areas, depending on where their lot falls.
For comparison, a resale home in an established Estero community usually comes with a few years of assessment history you can look up. A new Kingston home comes with one year of a published number, and for most lots that number doesn't include any debt yet.
The Roads and Amenities Arrive in Stages
The recurring cost is still moving, and so is the way in. Kingston is a Corkscrew Road project east of Estero, approved by the Lee County Board of County Commissioners in June 2022, according to Engage Estero's project page. That approval came from the county, not from the Village Council. The dates a buyer will actually feel line up like this:
- Weekend of Oct. 23 to 26, 2026. Nightly lane closures on Corkscrew Road from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., with Alico Road down to one lane in each direction for the whole stretch, while crews rebuild the intersection.
- Fall 2026. As of Sept. 30, a traffic signal at Corkscrew Road and the community's spine road was "likely to be operational."
- Late Spring 2027. Completion of Corkscrew Road Phase 2, an approximately $27 million project built by Bergeron Land Development. The date slipped because of additional Lee County Utilities work and utility relocation delays by FPL and Lumen, according to the Village of Estero's Oct. 16 update. The segment runs from Bella Terra Boulevard to Alico Road, with four lanes and a new signal at Alico.
- Winter 2027/2028. A traffic signal where the spine road meets SR 82.
A southern road link is off the table. Cameratta Companies dropped its proposed road through a section of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on July 9, and Audubon and Cameratta announced a settlement on Aug. 13. Engage Estero, citing Audubon and WGCU, reports that the settlement returns the easements across Audubon's property within two years. A separate CR 951/Collier Boulevard north-south extension is still under study by the Lee County MPO with the Collier MPO.
The amenities follow the same pattern. Lennar describes an approximately 30-acre recreation campus with outdoor courts, a saloon, and an indoor sports complex with 12 pickleball courts, fitness and café space. Kingston's own model-home announcement describes the pool, the indoor sports complex and the social club as planned. Taylor Morrison's Esplanade page lists a resort pool and spa, wellness and culinary centers, indoor pickleball, tennis and bocce, with no opening date.
None of this is unusual for a community planned at about 10,000 residences and 700,000 square feet of commercial space. It does mean an early Kingston buyer is paying today's price for a place that will look quite different in 2027 and 2028, and paying a CDD figure that's lower now because of the paydown.
Questions to Put in Writing Before You Sign
- Which assessment area is this homesite in, Series 2025 Area One or Future Bond Series 2?
- If it's Area One, does the paydown shown in the FY2027 budget apply to this lot, and is anything owed at closing?
- If it's the second tier, what does the builder expect the debt service to be once a second bond is issued, and is that estimate in the contract?
- What are the HOA or master association dues? They aren't posted on the builder pages.
- Is membership in the amenities mandatory, and is a capital contribution due at closing?
- When is each amenity scheduled to open, and what happens if those dates slip?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Kingston CDD assessment fixed? The FY2027 budget shows the same Area One totals as FY2026. It also says debt service for future bond series is still to be determined, so later years aren't locked in.
Does every Kingston home pay the same CDD amount? No. Amounts in the budget vary by lot size and by assessment area, from $74.47 in the second tier up to $2,563.83 for a 72-foot Area One lot in FY2027.
Where can I read the budget? It's posted on the Kingston One CDD website under financial documents.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. CDD assessments and HOA terms depend on the specific homesite and contract, so confirm your own situation with a real estate attorney, tax professional or lender.
If Kingston is on your list, Jill Nicholas will put the CDD budget page next to your homesite, chase down the assessment-area answers in writing, and compare your all-in yearly cost with resale homes across Estero before you sign a builder contract. Request a Consultation.
