In case you haven’t noticed, south Palm Bay is starting to boom. There will soon be stores and restaurants lining Babcock Street and St. Johns Heritage Parkway’s southern section, as housing developments ramp up to full speed. Most of the projects are in Palm Bay, but it won’t be long before it starts looking like a separate city.
Just outside of Palm Bay’s current border sits an eleven-hundred-acre wooded parcel that's about to become SunTerra Lakes. If you’re driving south on Babcock, the property starts right at the corner of Willowbrook Street. From there, the parcel stretches roughly a mile south down Babcock and two miles west into the woods. That’s a big chunk of real estate. A $53 million chunk to be exact.
Here’s the interesting part. SunTerra is in unincorporated Brevard County, so the county handles the zoning approvals, giving Palm Bay very little say in the layout. But under state law, Palm Bay is still required to hook up SunTerra with water and sewer because the property sits inside the city's official utility service area.
Fast Facts
The Size: 1,100 total acres of land.
The Homes: 2,548 single-family houses built over 10 separate phases.
The Neighborhoods: Half the community will be a gated 55+ neighborhood.
The Lots: Standard front-loaded home lots measuring 40, 50, and 60 feet wide.
The Lake: A private 125-acre central lake for neighborhood amenities.
The Perks: Community pools, clubhouses, walking trails, and parks.
The Shopping: 25 acres set aside for stores and restaurants along Babcock Street.
The Timeline
Early 2024: Sun Terra Communities buys the raw woods for $28 million.
August 2026: JTD Land Company buys the whole project for $53 million in cash.
Early 2027: Construction crews are expected to officially break ground.
The good news for Palm Bay taxpayers is that you aren't on the hook to build any of this. The developer has to fund and lay every single pipe themselves, plus pay $24.42 million in utility impact fees to hook up to the city grid.
And since SunTerra Lakes sits outside the city limits for now, those new residents will pay a premium for their water. Palm Bay will slap on an extra 10% surcharge on water bills and a 25% surcharge on sewer bills.
While it won't drain your wallet, it will drain local resources. Once it is fully built out, SunTerra Lakes is expected to use over half a million gallons of fresh water a day—and send enough wastewater back to soak up roughly 26% of the total capacity of Palm Bay's brand-new South Regional wastewater plant.
The project also includes a $9.01 million fair-share contribution toward widening Babcock Street and a $1.9 million investment for a new four-way traffic signal and turn lanes at the main entrance.
Would you buy a house in SunTerra Lakes?
When you add it all up, moving into SunTerra Lakes isn't going to be cheap. On top of a standard mortgage, county taxes and insurance, buyers are going to face a triple-whammy of extra monthly costs.
The Sun Terra Lakes Community Development District (CDD) has been formed, but I haven’t seen CDD fees published or disclosed at this time. It’s likely too soon. If it’s similar to the nearby Emerald Lakes, you're looking at roughly $1,970 a year in CDD fees just for the neighborhood infrastructure.
Yes, it’s true. If you’re buying into a Community Development District, you’re paying the bonds for all that infrastructure. A sweet deal for developers.
Toss in a separate monthly HOA fee for the clubhouses and pools, plus that 10% to 25% city utility surcharge on your water and sewer bills, and living out on Babcock Street is going to carry a hefty premium.
At some point, SunTerra Lakes will likely be annexed into Palm Bay city. The utility surcharges will disappear, but Palm Bay property taxes will kick in. One way or another, you pay. Crazy how life works.
— Nathan
Poll: Would you consider a future home in SunTerra Lakes?
👍 Yes, the amenities and the big lake look awesome.
👎 No way, those extra fees are dealbreakers.
🤷 Only if the house prices are low enough to offset the fees.
Quick Disclaimer: Information and images in this article are not guaranteed to be accurate. I do my best to research the topics and visit the areas in person, but sometimes information can be conflicting, misleading, or outdated. I’ll make corrections as soon as I learn more.
Almost 50 years ago I designed and supervised the construction of Deer Run immediately south. I thought it would always be remote, yet here we are.