· 10 min read· By Ryan Solberg, Broker #BK3354351
32827 Zip Code: Lake Nona Homes, New Construction, and the Medical City Premium
Inside 32827—Tavistock's master plan, Medical City employers, price range from $400K to $3M, and the CDD fee reality every Lake Nona buyer needs to understand.
Lake Nona is the most planned, most deliberate, and most talked-about neighborhood in Orlando real estate. It was designed from scratch by Tavistock Development Company starting in the 2000s, and the result is a neighborhood that doesn't feel accidental — because it isn't. Here's what buying in 32827 actually means, what the different communities offer, and why the Medical City employment base shapes the entire market.
What Tavistock Built and Why It Matters
Most Orlando neighborhoods evolved organically — a subdivision here, a commercial strip there, infrastructure added reactively. Lake Nona was designed the other way around. Tavistock acquired a large land position south of the 528 (Beachline Expressway) and developed a master plan that incorporated medical institutions, a tech incubator, residential communities, retail, and parks as a cohesive whole.
The result: Lake Nona has a legible structure. You know where the town center is. You know where the parks are. The roads connect logically. The mixed-use areas are mixed-use on purpose, not by accident.
That deliberateness has a price. Everything in Lake Nona is newer construction. Most residential communities are within CDDs (Community Development Districts). The "character" is still being built — the mature trees and worn-in neighborhood feel that Winter Park or Dr. Phillips have will take another 30 years to develop here.
For buyers coming from the Northeast who are used to planned communities (Reston, The Woodlands, Irvine), Lake Nona reads immediately as high-quality. For buyers who value historic character, it reads as sterile. Know which buyer you are.
Medical City: The Employment Engine
Medical City is the cluster of healthcare employers on the eastern edge of the master plan:
- UCF College of Medicine — one of Florida's public medical schools, opened 2009
- Nemours Children's Hospital — regional children's specialty hospital
- Orlando Health UCF Cancer Center — cancer treatment and research
- VA Medical Center Orlando — full-service VA hospital
- AdventHealth at Lake Nona (under development/expanded)
- Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute — biomedical research
These employers collectively represent thousands of high-income jobs for physicians, researchers, nurses, administrators, and support professionals. The majority of those employees want to live near where they work, and 32827 is where they live. This employment base is what explains the income profile of the neighborhood, the school performance, and the sustained demand.
The USTA (United States Tennis Association) National Campus
The USTA National Campus at Lake Nona is the largest tennis facility in the world — 100+ courts on a purpose-built campus that hosts national training programs and tournaments. It's also a significant employer and draws sports-oriented buyers who value proximity to high-level athletic facilities.
For tennis-playing buyers, USTA membership and proximity to the campus is a real amenity. For everyone else, it's a source of short-term rental demand and event traffic on campus roads.
Key Residential Communities in 32827
Laureate Park
Laureate Park is Tavistock's flagship residential community within Lake Nona — roughly 1,200 acres of mixed-use, walkable (by Florida standards) neighborhoods designed around a central High Performance Living model. It includes:
- Single-family homes from $500K to $1.5M
- Townhomes from $400K to $600K
- Apartments (rentals, not relevant to buyers)
- LP Fit (community fitness campus)
- A dedicated fiber internet network
- Parks, trails, and community gardens
The design aesthetic is contemporary — modern farmhouse and neo-traditional architecture, alley-loaded garages, front porch culture. The community has a strong resident association culture and is popular with young professional families.
The tradeoff in Laureate Park: homes are on smaller lots than in older Orlando neighborhoods, and the newer construction means everything is still growing in. If you're coming from a large-lot suburban background, LP will feel dense.
Storey Park
Storey Park is a newer, larger community that straddles the 32827/32832 boundary on the eastern side of Lake Nona. It's built by Tavistock in partnership with multiple builders and offers more price diversity than Laureate Park — homes from $380K to $800K. The neighborhood has community amenities (pool, park, fiber internet) but is less walkable than LP and has a more conventional suburban feel.
Storey Park is where buyers who want "Lake Nona" at a more accessible price point end up. The school zones are comparable (Lake Nona High is the high school), and the Medical City drive is similar.
Ravenna at Tavistock
Ravenna is the luxury tier within the Lake Nona master plan — a gated, lower-density community with larger custom homes. Prices range from $1.5M to $3M+. It's adjacent to the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club (a private club with membership separate from home purchase). For buyers who want the Lake Nona address at the luxury level, Ravenna is the answer.
Eagle Creek
Eagle Creek is a gated community on the western edge of 32827 near Narcoossee Road. It has a golf course (members/residents club), single-family homes priced from $500K to $1.2M, and a more established feel than Laureate Park — the development started earlier (2007). Eagle Creek is popular with Medical City physicians who want gated privacy and golf without paying Ravenna prices.
CDD Fees: The Number Everyone Forgets
CDDs are a common mechanism for financing infrastructure in Florida master-planned communities. Here's what they mean practically:
A CDD is a special taxing district. When you buy in a CDD community, your annual property tax bill includes a CDD assessment — typically split between a debt service portion (paying off infrastructure bonds) and a maintenance portion (ongoing upkeep). This appears as a separate line item on your tax bill.
In Lake Nona communities, CDD fees range approximately:
- Storey Park: $2,000–$3,000/year
- Laureate Park: $2,500–$4,000/year
- Eagle Creek: $1,800–$2,800/year
- Ravenna: $3,000–$5,000+/year
This is not a small number. On a $600K home in Laureate Park, a $3,500 CDD adds roughly $290/month to your effective housing cost — the equivalent of a meaningful mortgage rate difference. It also does not go away when you refinance, unlike mortgage insurance.
The debt service portion of a CDD decreases over time as the bonds are paid off, typically over 20–30 years. Some older communities have retired their CDDs; newer ones are in the early years of the debt cycle. Always ask your agent to pull the CDD schedule for any property you're seriously considering.
Price Ranges in 32827 (Q1 2026)
| Community / Tier | Property Type | Price Range |
|---|---|---|
| Storey Park | 3/2 SFH, new construction | $380K–$550K |
| Laureate Park | 3/2 townhome | $400K–$520K |
| Laureate Park | 4/3 SFH | $550K–$950K |
| Eagle Creek | 4/4 SFH with golf | $600K–$1.2M |
| Laureate Park | 5/4 custom SFH | $900K–$1.5M |
| Ravenna | Custom estate | $1.5M–$3M+ |
| Lake Nona Golf & CC adjacent | Custom luxury | $2M–$4M |
What's Driving Demand Beyond the Hospitals
Airport proximity. Lake Nona is 15–20 minutes from Orlando International Airport. For frequent business travelers, this is a significant quality-of-life factor that doesn't show up in school rankings or community amenities.
Epic Universe / Theme Park corridor. The new Epic Universe theme park (opened May 2025, operated by Universal) is about 25–30 minutes from Lake Nona. This has pushed up short-term rental interest in the 32827 adjacent areas, though Lake Nona proper has stricter HOA rules around STRs.
Infrastructure investment. SunRail commuter rail has a Lake Nona station in the planning/funding pipeline, and the 417/528 interchange provides highway access in multiple directions. The city of Orlando has invested meaningfully in this corridor.
Who Buys in Lake Nona
The Lake Nona buyer profile I see most often:
- Dual-income professional couple, one or both in healthcare
- Relocating from the Northeast or Midwest, drawn by Medical City employment
- Children of school age, prioritizing A-rated schools and new facilities
- First-time Florida buyers who want new construction rather than an older home with deferred maintenance
- International buyers (South American physicians, Middle Eastern medical families) drawn by Medical City
The buyer I don't typically see in Lake Nona: the historic-character buyer, the walkability-first buyer, or the buyer who prioritizes eccentricity and local flavor over planning and consistency.
Ryan Solberg is a luxury real estate agent with MaxLife Realty specializing in Lake Nona, Dr. Phillips, Winter Park, and Windermere.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the 32827 zip code in Orlando?
- The 32827 zip code covers Lake Nona — Orlando's most deliberately planned master-developed community, built by Tavistock Development Company south of SR-528 (the Beachline Expressway) in southeast Orange County. The zip includes Medical City (UCF College of Medicine, Nemours Children's Hospital, Orlando Health Lake Nona, VA Medical Center), the USTA National Campus, residential communities including Laureate Park, Northlake Park, and Nona Place, and the Lake Nona Town Center retail and entertainment district. It's a newer market — most construction is post-2005 — with planned infrastructure that older Orlando neighborhoods lack.
- What are home prices in 32827 Lake Nona?
- Home prices in 32827 Lake Nona span a wide range by community. Entry-level townhomes and condos in Nona Place or the town center area: $400K–$550K. Standard new construction SFR in Laureate Park and Northlake Park (3BR–4BR): $550K–$850K. Larger or upgraded SFR in premium Laureate Park phases: $850K–$1.5M. Estate-level homes on larger lots or with golf/lake views: $1.5M–$3M+. CDD fees in most Lake Nona communities add $1,500–$5,000 per year in carrying costs above base property taxes — budget this into your total cost of ownership.
- What employers are in Lake Nona's Medical City (32827)?
- Lake Nona's Medical City employment cluster includes: UCF College of Medicine (Florida's largest medical school by enrollment), Nemours Children's Hospital (major pediatric referral center), Orlando Health Lake Nona Hospital (Level II trauma center), the VA Medical Center Orlando (one of the Southeast's largest VA facilities), UF Health (academic medical partnership), and the USTA National Campus (headquarters for US Tennis Association and major event venue). Combined, Medical City employs tens of thousands of healthcare workers, researchers, and support staff — creating the most stable professional tenant and buyer base of any new community in the Orlando metro.
- What are the CDD fees in 32827 Lake Nona?
- Most Lake Nona (32827) residential communities sit within Community Development Districts (CDDs) that levy annual fees for infrastructure maintenance, amenities, and debt service. CDD fees in Lake Nona range from approximately $1,500–$5,000 per year depending on the community and phase. Laureate Park CDD fees typically run $2,500–$4,500/year. Northlake Park is lower. These fees are in addition to property taxes and HOA dues. For a $700K home, total annual carrying costs including taxes, HOA, and CDD can reach $14,000–$18,000/year. Always request the specific CDD fee disclosure from the seller or county before making an offer.
- Is buying in 32827 Lake Nona a good investment?
- 32827 Lake Nona has been one of the top-appreciating zip codes in the Orlando metro over the last decade, driven by the Medical City buildout and infrastructure investment from Tavistock, the City of Orlando, and major employers. The investment thesis is appreciation-driven rather than yield-driven: new construction cap rates run 5–7% gross (lower than SODO or Kissimmee), but Medical City employment creates a permanent demand base that other suburbs lack. For a 10-year hold, Lake Nona's combination of employer anchor, planned infrastructure, and continued development pipeline makes it one of Orlando's stronger appreciation plays. For pure cash flow from day one, lower-priced zip codes perform better.
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