Auburndale, Polk County, Florida
Gapway Lakes Estates: Lake Juliana Estate Lots in Auburndale, FL
45 approved one acre estate lots on Lake Juliana. Platted, not yet released for sale.
Gapway Lakes Estates Quick Facts
- Lots
- 45 single family estate lots, 1 acre minimum
- Lakefront
- 25 lots directly on Lake Juliana (lots 1 to 25)
- Gapway Rd side
- 20 lots with Lake Arietta views (lots 26 to 45)
- Minimum home size
- 2,200 sq ft
- Zoning
- Estate Residential within Auburndale's Lakes District
- Size
- About 65 acres, roughly 3/4 mile of Lake Juliana frontage
- Developer
- Terra Nova Land Development (lot developer, not a homebuilder)
- Utilities and access
- City water and sewer, single entrance off Gapway Rd, HOA plus CDD
Last updated: October 2026
Where Gapway Lakes Estates Is Today
9/4/2025
Developer's agreement approved by City of Auburndale
10/20/2025
Preliminary plat approved (45 lots)
11/17/2025
Development agreement assigned to Terra Nova
12/18/2025
Land sale closed
May 2026
Gapway Lakes Community Development District (CDD) approved
Fall 2026
Site work not yet started; timing tied to city sewer upgrades
Everything in that list is a dated approval or closing, not a projection. The project is fully entitled on paper. What it is waiting on is dirt.
When Will Lots Be Available?
Nothing official has been announced. The developer has not published a lot release date, a groundbreaking date, or prices. The real gate on the schedule is City of Auburndale sewer capacity: the development agreement ties this project to utility upgrades that have to be in place before lots can be finished and sold.
Estimate, not an announcement
This is Barrett Henry's read on the timeline based on the approvals above and how similar Polk County lot projects have moved. It is an estimate. It is not a developer statement, and it will change if the sewer work slips.
- Site work: late 2026 to early 2027 (estimate)
- Finished lots: around late 2027 (estimate)
- First homes: 2028 (estimate)
All three depend on the sewer infrastructure timing. Treat them as a planning range, not a calendar.
If you want the real dates the day they exist, get on the update list or call Barrett at (813) 733-7907. In the meantime you can browse Auburndale waterfront homes and Auburndale land for sale that are actually on the market now.
Lot Layout Explained
The plat is two rows of lots with one internal road between them. Lake Juliana is the north boundary, Gapway Rd is the south boundary, and there is a single entrance off Gapway Rd.
Lakefront row: lots 1 to 25
Twenty five lots sit directly on Lake Juliana along roughly three quarters of a mile of shoreline. A 4.8 acre retention pond sits on the shoreline between lots 13 and 14, which splits the row into two runs. The west end of the internal road terminates in a cul de sac.
Arietta view row: lots 26 to 45
Twenty lots run along the Gapway Rd side of the internal road, looking south toward Lake Arietta. These are view lots, not lake frontage: Lake Arietta is on the far side of Gapway Rd. The east end of the road closes in a loop, and about 2.3 acres is set aside as lawn open space.
Why the houses will look spaced out
Auburndale's Lakes District code does not let a house spread across a full acre. Each lot has a smaller designated buildable area, and the rest of the lot stays natural with existing trees preserved. That is what makes a one acre lot here feel different from a one acre lot in a conventional subdivision: you get the acre, but a meaningful share of it stays wooded by rule rather than by choice.
Docks and Lake Access
There is no community dock, boat ramp, clubhouse, or pool on the permitted plans. That is worth saying plainly, because several nearby lake communities do have shared amenities and buyers reasonably assume this one will too. On the plans as approved, it does not.
Lakefront owners on lots 1 to 25 will most likely need to permit their own individual docks. Wetland buffers apply along the shoreline, and the width of that buffer and the shoreline condition vary from lot to lot, so what is permittable on one lot is not automatically permittable on the next. If a private dock is the reason you want a lakefront lot, make dock feasibility a condition you investigate on the specific lot before you commit to it.
For boat access in the meantime, the public Lake Juliana Boat Ramp is at 500 James Pl, Auburndale, FL, on the east side of the lake.
About Lake Juliana
Lake Juliana is about 924 acres, with an average depth of roughly 12 feet and a maximum of about 19 feet. It fishes well for largemouth bass, bluegill, shellcracker, and specks (black crappie), and it is big enough for real boating without being one of the crowded chain lakes.
On the east side, a canal connects Lake Juliana to Lake Mattie, which adds water to run without putting you on a different boat ramp.
The thing to understand about Juliana if you are shopping it: lakefront homes here rarely come up for sale. Existing owners tend to stay, and when something does list it moves. That scarcity is the whole reason a new plat with 25 lakefront acre lots on this lake is worth paying attention to, and it is also why there is no realistic way to predict pricing on it yet.
- Surface area924 acres
- Average depthabout 12 ft
- Max depthabout 19 ft
- Connects toLake Mattie
Fishing: largemouth bass, bluegill, shellcracker, and specks.
Nearby Lake Communities
Gapway Lakes Estates is the only new community offering one acre lots directly on Lake Juliana. Everything else nearby is either on a different lake, on smaller lots, or already built out. Here is how the neighbours compare.
| Community | Lake | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Juliana Estates | Lake Juliana | Established gated community with a clubhouse and shared lake access, on standard subdivision lots rather than acreage. |
| Bellaviva | Lake Mattie | Newer construction on the Lake Mattie side, built at a tighter lot size with builder floor plans. |
| Lake Mattie Preserve | Lake Mattie | Small acreage enclave near the Lake Mattie shoreline, mostly custom homes on larger parcels. |
| Summerlake Estates | Area lakes | Auburndale subdivision of single family homes with lake views rather than direct lake frontage. |
| Lake Juliana Reserve | Lake Juliana | Smaller Juliana area community; frontage is limited and most homes sit back from the water. |
| Gapway Lakes Estates | Lake Juliana | The only new community with one acre lots directly on Lake Juliana. 25 lakefront lots, 2,200 sq ft minimum homes, no shared amenities on the permitted plans. |
Drive Times from Gapway Lakes Estates
Free flow estimates, meaning no traffic. Auburndale sits on the I-4 corridor, so the Tampa and Orlando numbers stretch considerably at rush hour.
- Florida Polytechnic University12 min
- Winter Haven20 min
- Lakeland24 min
- Walt Disney World40 min
- Downtown Orlando55 min
- Downtown Tampa60 min
- Tampa International Airport70 min
For more on the commute either direction, see the Lakeland and Winter Haven area pages, or the full Polk County overview.
Already Own a Home on Lake Juliana?
A new plat with 25 lakefront acre lots changes the comp picture on this lake, and if you already own here it cuts both ways. Juliana lakefront rarely trades, which has held values up. A new supply of buildable lakefront is the first real test of that in years.
If you have been thinking about moving up into a new build on the lake, the sequencing is the hard part, not the decision. Selling too early leaves you renting while lots are still being graded. Selling too late means carrying two properties. The useful move right now is simply knowing what your current home is worth, so you have a number to plan around when lots actually release.
Gapway Lakes Estates: Frequently Asked Questions
What is Gapway Lakes Estates?
Gapway Lakes Estates is an approved 45 lot estate community on the south shore of Lake Juliana in Auburndale, Florida. Every lot is a minimum of one acre, and homes must be at least 2,200 square feet. The community covers about 65 acres with roughly three quarters of a mile of Lake Juliana frontage. As of October 2026 it is pre-development: the plat is approved but no lots have been released for sale.
Where is Gapway Lakes Estates located?
Gapway Lakes Estates sits on the north side of Gapway Road in Auburndale, Polk County, Florida 33823, between Lake Juliana to the north and Lake Arietta to the south. The single entrance is off Gapway Road. Auburndale is on the I-4 corridor between Lakeland and Winter Haven, about 24 minutes from Lakeland and 20 minutes from Winter Haven in free flowing traffic.
How many lakefront lots are there?
Twenty five of the 45 lots sit directly on Lake Juliana. They are numbered 1 through 25 and occupy the shoreline row of the plat. The remaining 20 lots, numbered 26 through 45, run along the Gapway Road side with views toward Lake Arietta. A 4.8 acre retention pond interrupts the shoreline row between lots 13 and 14.
Who is the developer? Who will build the homes?
Terra Nova Land Development is the lot developer. Terra Nova is not a homebuilder: the development agreement was assigned to them on November 17, 2025, and their role is to entitle and build the lots, not the houses. No builder has been announced for Gapway Lakes Estates. On estate lots like these, buyers commonly bring their own custom builder, but nothing about builder selection has been published yet.
When will lots be available and when will they break ground?
There is no official release date or groundbreaking date for Gapway Lakes Estates. As of fall 2026 site work has not started, and the schedule is tied to City of Auburndale sewer infrastructure upgrades that have to be in place first. Barrett Henry's estimate, and it is an estimate rather than an announcement, is site work in late 2026 to early 2027, finished lots around late 2027, and first homes in 2028. Get on the update list to hear the moment a real date is published.
How much will lots cost?
No prices have been released for Gapway Lakes Estates. The developer has not published a price list, a price range, or a release schedule, and anyone quoting a number today is guessing. Lot pricing on a project like this is usually set close to the point when finished lots are ready to sell. Join the update list and you will get the pricing the day it becomes public.
Can I have a private dock?
The permitted plans for Gapway Lakes Estates do not include a community dock or boat ramp, so lakefront owners will most likely need to permit their own individual docks. Dock permitting on Lake Juliana runs through Polk County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and wetland buffer requirements apply along the shoreline. Confirm what is permittable on a specific lot before you buy it, because buffer width and shoreline conditions vary lot to lot.
Is there an HOA or CDD?
Gapway Lakes Estates will have both an HOA and a CDD. The Gapway Lakes Community Development District was approved in May 2026. A CDD is a special taxing district that finances infrastructure such as roads, water, sewer and stormwater, and it is repaid through an annual assessment on your property tax bill in addition to regular HOA dues. Neither the HOA dues nor the CDD assessment amount has been published yet.
What is the minimum home size?
The minimum home size at Gapway Lakes Estates is 2,200 square feet. Lots are a minimum of one acre and zoned Estate Residential within Auburndale's Lakes District. The Lakes District code keeps the house inside a smaller designated buildable area on each lot, so the balance of the acre stays natural with existing trees preserved.
What schools serve Gapway Lakes Estates?
Gapway Lakes Estates is in the Polk County Public Schools district, but school zoning should be confirmed by address directly with Polk County Public Schools rather than taken from any website. Attendance boundaries in growing parts of Polk County get redrawn as new schools open and capacity shifts, and a community that has not been platted and addressed yet can be rezoned before the first home is occupied. Verify current zoning with the district before you make a buying decision based on schools.
Get Gapway Lakes Estates Updates
No prices, no release date, and no builder have been announced. When any of that changes, the update list hears it first. Tell Barrett which side of the plat you care about and he will keep you posted.
Barrett Henry
Broker Associate, REMAX Collective · 23+ years of real estate experience
I have been tracking Gapway Lakes Estates since the developer's agreement went through the City of Auburndale in September 2025. There is a lot of noise online about this project and very little of it is sourced. Everything on this page is either a dated approval or clearly marked as my estimate. If you want a straight answer about where it actually stands, call me.
FL License #BK3313308 · e-PRO | MRP | SRS
Keep Looking Around Polk County
About this page. Gapway Lakes Estates is in pre-development. Lot counts, lot lines, dimensions, zoning conditions, amenities, HOA and CDD assessments, and schedules are subject to change until the final plat is recorded and the developer publishes terms. Dated items above reference City of Auburndale and Polk County public records; forward looking items are clearly labelled as estimates by Barrett Henry and are not developer statements. No lots are offered for sale on this page and no prices have been released. Barrett Henry does not represent the developer. Verify school zoning with Polk County Public Schools and dock feasibility with Polk County and the Southwest Florida Water Management District before relying on either. Last updated October 2026.