55+ communities near The Villages
Arlington Ridge Homes for Sale in Leesburg, FL
A gated 55+ community in Lake County with something none of the other alternatives have: a full Chapter 190 community development district that bills every home, and whose budget runs the golf course and the restaurant.
What is Arlington Ridge?
Arlington Ridge is a 55+ community in Leesburg, in Lake County. It is governed two ways at once: a homeowners association and a full community development district under Florida Statute Chapter 190. Most of the alternatives near The Villages have one or the other. This one has both.
The district's FY2026 assessment runs $3,259.93 to $3,884.93 per home depending on the phase, and it lands on the property tax bill rather than in a monthly statement. The operating portion of that is $2,688.78, up about 50% in four years. The district budget also funds golf course and restaurant operations, so every home pays for those whether you ever use them or not.
The HOA fee is separate from all of that, and it covers lawn care, basic cable, and fiber internet. The association does not publish the amount, so ask for the current figure in writing before you write an offer.
For how this stacks up against the other communities near The Villages, see my 55+ communities comparison.
At a glance
| County | Lake |
|---|---|
| City | Leesburg |
| Governance | HOA plus a full Chapter 190 CDD |
| What you pay | HOA dues and an annual CDD assessment on the tax bill |
| CDD assessment | $3,259.93 to $3,884.93 per home, FY2026, by phase (district's adopted FY2026 budget) |
| Operating portion | $2,688.78 — up about 50% in four years |
| Who sets it | HOA board, and a CDD board of supervisors |
| HOA fee covers | Lawn care, basic cable, fiber internet (amount not published — verify) |
| Golf | Funded by the CDD for every home; club membership is separate at $3,670/year (2025–26 club schedule) |
| Age rule | Federal housing-for-older-persons rules apply — confirm the specific occupancy terms with the association |
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When a home comes up in Arlington Ridge, I'll email it to you. If you want to talk a village through before you tour it, call or text me at 352-780-1479.
Two boards, two bills
Most 55+ communities have one governing body. Arlington Ridge has two, and they do different jobs.
The homeowners association is what you would expect: a board the residents elect, dues that cover services. Here those services are lawn care, basic cable, and fiber internet, which is more bundled than most communities give you.
The community development district is a different animal. A CDD is a special-purpose unit of local government created under Florida Statute Chapter 190. It can borrow money, adopt a budget, and bill every home in its boundary through the property tax bill. Its board is a board of supervisors, not the HOA board.
So a home at Arlington Ridge carries two separate recurring obligations from two separate authorities. When you compare a monthly payment here to a monthly payment somewhere else, you have to add both, and the CDD half only shows up if you look at the tax bill.
Here is the part I make sure buyers understand before anything else: the district's budget runs the golf course and the restaurant. That is not a golf membership and it is not a dining plan. It means the operating cost of those two amenities is spread across every home in the district. If you never pick up a club and never eat there, you are still funding them. Some buyers hear that and think it is perfectly reasonable, because the amenities hold value for the whole community. Others hear it and it is a dealbreaker. Both reactions are legitimate. What is not okay is finding out after closing.
What you actually pay at Arlington Ridge
Every figure below has a source and a date. Where I do not have one, I say so rather than estimate.
CDD assessment: $3,259.93 to $3,884.93
Per home for FY2026, varying by phase, from the district's adopted FY2026 budget. It bills through the property tax bill, in the non-ad valorem section. Ask which phase a specific home is in, because the spread between the ends is over $600 a year.
The operating half keeps climbing
Of that assessment, $2,688.78 is the operating portion — up about 50% in four years. Debt service pays down over time. Operating cost does not. It gets rebudgeted every year, and recent years have gone one direction.
Golf and the restaurant, funded by everyone
The district budget runs both. Every home pays into them through the assessment regardless of use. A golf club membership is a separate charge on top — $3,670 a year on the published 2025–26 club schedule.
HOA fee: get it in writing
There is a separate HOA fee on top of the CDD assessment, and it covers lawn care, basic cable, and fiber internet. The association does not publish a current schedule, so I am not going to print a number. Ask the HOA directly and get the answer in writing before you make an offer.
What the bundled services are worth
Lawn care, cable, and internet inside one fee is genuinely convenient, and it is a real saving against paying for all three separately. Price those three at what you would pay on your own before you decide whether the total is high or low.
Property tax: verify by address
I do not publish a tax rate for this community. The Lake County rates on the rest of this site were each calculated for a home inside The Villages, and they do not carry over to a home outside it. Get the number from the Lake County Property Appraiser for the specific parcel.
Arlington Ridge versus The Villages
I sell in The Villages. I am still going to tell you both sides, because a buyer who picks the wrong community is not a client for long.
Where Arlington Ridge can be the better fit
It is gated, it is smaller, and the HOA fee bundles lawn care, cable, and internet — three things you pay for separately in The Villages, where lawn service always comes out of pocket. Buyers who find The Villages too big are describing a real trade-off, not imagining one.
Leesburg also puts you closer to Lake County services than the northern end of The Villages does, and entry prices in this part of Lake County can run below comparable Villages homes.
Where The Villages can be the better fit
This is the one alternative where the usual argument does not hold up on its face. Most 55+ communities near The Villages offer a simpler, lower monthly stack. Arlington Ridge has two: a CDD assessment of $3,259.93 to $3,884.93 a year, and an HOA fee on top of it. The HOA does not publish a schedule, so nobody can total the two from public figures — get the HOA amount in writing before you compare anything.
The Villages has a bond too, and I never pretend otherwise — a newer home can carry $3,000 to $5,000 a year of it. But that bond paid for roads and pipes and it pays down to zero. It does not fund a restaurant.
Then there is scale: 130 recreation centers, five town squares with free nightly entertainment, and a golf cart network that reaches most of it. Walking play on 45 executive courses comes with the amenity fee.
Do this one on paper, not on a tour. Write down the CDD assessment, add the HOA fee once you have it in writing, and compare that total against a Villages home's amenity fee plus bond plus maintenance plus lawn service. Arlington Ridge is the community in this group where the numbers most often surprise people, in both directions.
Arlington Ridge in Leesburg, FL: common questions
Yes. Arlington Ridge has a full community development district under Florida Statute Chapter 190. The FY2026 assessment is $3,259.93 to $3,884.93 per home depending on the phase, per the district's adopted FY2026 budget. It appears on the property tax bill.
Infrastructure debt and district operations — and the district's budget also runs the golf course and the restaurant. Every home funds those operations whether the owner ever golfs or eats there.
Yes. A separate HOA fee covers lawn care, basic cable, and fiber internet. The HOA does not publish a current schedule, so get the amount in writing from the association rather than from a listing.
The operating portion alone is $2,688.78 for FY2026, which is up about 50% in four years. That is the part of the assessment that funds ongoing operations rather than debt, and it is reset every year with the district budget.
Not as play. You fund golf operations through the CDD assessment whether you play or not, and a club membership is separate on top of that — $3,670 a year on the published 2025–26 club schedule.
The Villages bond paid for roads, pipes, and streetlights, and it pays down to zero. The Arlington Ridge district also funds golf and restaurant operations, and operating costs do not pay off — they get rebudgeted every year.
Two bodies. An HOA board handles association matters, and a CDD board of supervisors adopts the district budget that sets the assessment. They are separate boards with separate authority.
Other 55+ communities near The Villages
Weighing Arlington Ridge against The Villages?
Send me the address and I will put both totals side by side, including the parts that argue against a Villages home.