Bonita Bay

Bonita Bay is master-planned, gated and entirely west of US 41, in Bonita Springs, Lee County, near the Collier County line and between Naples and Fort Myers. The Imperial River runs along the southern edge, Spring Creek along the northern, and Estero Bay lies west. Approximately 2,400 acres hold 3,346 residences, built from 1985 onward.

Three organizations operate here rather than one, and telling them apart is most of the work of buying. The Bonita Bay Community Association is the master association, and every owner joins it automatically. Bonita Bay Club is a separate, member-owned club, and Bonita Bay Marina is a separate business again. All three bill separately, and only the association's bill arrives with the house.

What comes with the house?

Three parks inside the gates, twelve miles of walking and biking paths, and the Private Beach. All of it belongs to the community association, which every owner joins on closing, so no club membership stands between you and any of it.

Estero Bay Park covers 13 acres, where an 800-foot boardwalk crosses coastal mangroves to a private pier over Estero Bay. Butterfly garden, screened pavilion, gas grills, Native American shell mounds. Riverwalk Park, on the Imperial River, holds most of the sport, with bocce, renovated pickleball courts, a basketball court, a boat ramp and kayak storage. Spring Creek Park, on the northern border, adds canoe storage with a launch dock.

Does the beach come with the house?

Yes, and nothing extra buys it. The Private Beach is owned, maintained and operated by the community association, and every owner is automatically a member. The association's list of what it looks after ends "plus all of our recreational parks including the Private Beach".

The qualification is location: "Outside the gates, BBCA's newly developed Private Beach facility located off Hickory Boulevard". The association puts the trip at "10 minutes from gate to gate". Riding the shuttle costs nothing extra: "Year-round shuttle service is offered for the convenience of beach visits without the hassle of driving."

The facility itself is newly rebuilt in concrete and has reopened. Showers, restrooms, grills, private parking, a catering kitchen, and chairs and umbrellas the concierge sets out for you.

Can you keep a boat at Bonita Bay?

Yes, and it's a second bill rather than part of the first. Bonita Bay Marina is inside the gates, on the Imperial River, with direct access to Estero Bay and the Gulf. It belongs to neither the association nor the club, but to "a group of resident investors".

Capacity is 326 dry storage spaces for boats up to 36 feet and 98 wet slips for vessels up to 16,000 pounds. There's a boat launch, fuel, bait and light mechanical work on site. A slip or a dry space is rented separately, and association dues don't cover it: the association's own phrase is that "additional fees apply".

The restaurant there needs no membership: "Backwater Jacks, a waterfront restaurant is open for dining for all residents."

Do you have to join Bonita Bay Club?

No. Buying a home brings association membership and nothing more. The club describes itself as "a separate entity within the community of Bonita Bay", with its own application and its own bill. The association frames joining as a step "For those who wish to further engage in golfing or other sporting activities".

Five golf courses carry the club's name and three of them are here. "In Bonita Springs, the West Club features three Arthur Hills designs", which are Marsh, Creekside and Bay Island. Cypress and Sabal are Tom Fazio courses "In Naples", where "Both courses frame the Club's newly built clubhouse". Playing those two means leaving the community.

Everything else sits behind that same decision: a Sports Center with "16 Har-Tru tennis courts, 15 pickleball courts, and a championship croquet lawn", a geothermal pool with four lap lanes, nearly 20,000 square feet of fitness space, a spa and salon, and club dining. None of it comes with the house.

What are the homes like?

Condominium-led, and by a wide margin. Low-rise buildings account for about 35 percent, high-rise about 27 percent, detached houses about 23 percent, villas about 11 percent, more of them detached than attached, and mid-rise about 4 percent. Floor areas run from about 850 to about 8,850 square feet, and homes have sold from the $240,000s to around $6 million.

Age matters as much as the price band here. The oldest condominium buildings date to the mid-1980s, and Florida makes buildings that old prove their structural condition and fund reserves against what the inspection finds. Whether that money is already banked separates a steady monthly fee from a special assessment, and a detached house escapes the question entirely.

What an owner pays each month follows the individual home, not the community, and the club and the marina are separate bills if you use them.

What should you check on a specific address?

• The monthly figure for that exact home.
• Whether the declaration at that address requires club membership.
• What a wet slip or a dry storage space costs.
• The building's last structural inspection, and whether its reserves are funded.
• The leasing and pet rules for that building.

Both entrances are staffed around the clock, the main gate and a quieter one to the north. A community patrol works inside, and a design review department signs off on exterior changes.