Living in Florida's Space Coast
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes is a D.R. Horton neighborhood off Heritage Lakes Boulevard, built almost entirely across 2023 and 2024 on five floor plans running 1,672 to 2,601 square feet. Barr Street, Dunes Avenue and McFarland Drive make up most of it. It exists because the St. Johns Heritage Parkway and the Ellis Road interchange opened this side of West Melbourne up.
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes In West Melbourne, Florida
Start with the road, because the road is the reason. Interstate 95 got a new interchange at Ellis Road and the St. Johns Heritage Parkway in 2020, exit 182, and that opened a large piece of West Melbourne that had been farmland and scrub. Heritage Lakes went in behind it. Drive the parkway today and you are looking at a corridor that did not functionally exist eight years ago, with this neighborhood sitting on the east side of it.
D.R. Horton built it, and built it fast. Five plans, 1,672 to 2,601 square feet, one and two story, three to five bedrooms, two car garages on everything. The Cali plan turns up here repeatedly. Finishes are consistent because they came off a builder menu: quartz counters, white shaker cabinets, a large island, a walk-in pantry, plank tile through the main areas, dual vanities and two walk-in closets in the owner's suite, and a smart home package.
This is inside the City of West Melbourne, not Melbourne, and the distinction is real. West Melbourne incorporated in 1959 specifically to avoid being annexed by Melbourne, it has had the fastest population growth of any municipality in Brevard County since 2000, and it runs its own city government and code enforcement while buying its water from the City of Melbourne. Your city hall, your permits and your code questions all go to West Melbourne.
Lots are small and mostly uniform, roughly 0.15 to 0.26 acre, and the premium ones are the handful that back to the lake or to a protected wooded strip. Most of the rest look at a neighbor. Nobody has built a pool here yet, so if you want one you are the first, and you should price the fence, the deck and the cage into your budget rather than assuming a resale will hand you one. Screened lanais and fenced yards are the common upgrades so far.
Homes have been trading between $369,990 and $481,000, and the low end of that carries the builder's own pricing signature. Two things worth knowing: everything here is the same vintage, which means the roofs, air handlers and water heaters across the whole neighborhood will reach the end of their lives at roughly the same time, and time on market has run anywhere from a few days to most of a year depending on how a home was priced against remaining builder inventory.
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes At A Glance
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes at a glance, one plat and one builder.
| Detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Detail | Value |
| Location | Off Heritage Lakes Boulevard and Dunes Avenue, east of St. Johns Heritage Parkway, West Melbourne 32904 |
| Jurisdiction | City of West Melbourne. Its own incorporated city with its own council, code enforcement and permitting, buying water from the City of Melbourne |
| Recorded plat | One, Dunes at Heritage Lakes |
| Streets | Barr Street, Dunes Avenue, McFarland Drive and Amasa Circle |
| Built | 2023 and 2024, with most homes sold new by the builder |
| Builder | D.R. Horton, five floor plans |
| Home size | 1,672 to 2,601 square feet |
| Bedrooms | Three to five bedrooms, with two or three baths |
| Lot size | About 0.15 to 0.26 acre |
| Construction | One and two story, block and stucco, two car garages. Quartz counters, plank tile, walk-in pantries, dual vanities, smart home packages |
| Association | Yes. The Dunes at Heritage Lakes association governs the neighborhood, with professional management in place. Dues apply, so request the current governing documents, budget and rules before you write |
| Water views | A small number of homes back to the neighborhood lake, and a few more back to a protected wooded area. Those are the premium lots |
| Pools | None yet. This is new enough that no owner has added one, so plan on being first if you want one |
| Utilities | Public water and sewer |
| Interstate access | Ellis Road and St. Johns Heritage Parkway at Interstate 95 exit 182, opened in 2020, is the reason this corridor developed |
| Price range | $369,990 to $481,000, with the builder's own pricing visible at the bottom of the range |
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes Details
Everything Is The Same Age
Nearly every home here went up in 2023 or 2024. That is comfortable now, because nothing needs replacing, and it is worth planning for later, because the roofs, air conditioners and water heaters will all come due within a few years of each other. Neighborhoods with a spread of build years age more gently than this.
Five Plans, Not Fifty
D.R. Horton built to a menu, so the plans repeat and the finishes repeat. That makes comparing two homes here unusually straightforward: same quartz, same cabinets, same tile, so what actually differs is the lot, the elevation, the lanai and whatever the owner added afterward. Use that. It makes negotiating cleaner than in an older plat.
The Lot Is The Whole Premium
Most homes look at a neighbor. A small number back to the lake and a few more to a protected wooded strip, and those are worth a real premium that will hold. If a water or preserve lot matters to you, wait for one rather than talking yourself into an interior lot at the same number.
No Pools Yet
Not one home here has a pool, which is unusual and tells you how new the neighborhood is. If you want one you will be the first, which means dealing with the association's approval process, the lot size, the setbacks and the cost of a cage all at once. Confirm what the documents allow before you close.
Built On A New Road
The Ellis Road interchange at Interstate 95 opened in 2020 and the St. Johns Heritage Parkway runs north and south past this neighborhood. That means an easy run to the airport, to US 192 and to the aerospace employers, and it also means a corridor that is still filling in with more homes and more commercial. Expect construction nearby for a while.
A Young Association
The association here is only a few years old and is professionally managed. Young associations are still building reserves and still setting precedent on approvals, fences and lanais. Read the current documents and the last year of minutes rather than assuming the rules are settled.
Homes For Sale In The Dunes at Heritage Lakes
Everything currently listed inside The Dunes at Heritage Lakes appears below. Because the neighborhood is only a few years old, most of what you see will be first resales rather than long-held homes.
The Dunes at Heritage Lakes Frequently Asked Questions
Who built The Dunes at Heritage Lakes?
D.R. Horton, as part of the wider Heritage Lakes development in West Melbourne. The community offered five single family floor plans from 1,672 to 2,601 square feet, one and two story, three to five bedrooms, all with two car garages. Building ran through 2023 and 2024.
Is this Melbourne or West Melbourne?
West Melbourne. The mailing address can read Melbourne, which confuses buyers constantly, but the plat sits inside West Melbourne city limits. West Melbourne is a separate incorporated city with its own council, its own code enforcement and its own permitting, and it has grown faster than any other municipality in Brevard County since 2000.
Is there a homeowners association?
Yes. The Dunes at Heritage Lakes has an association with professional management, and dues apply. Because the community is only a few years old, ask for the current governing documents, the budget, the reserve position and the last year of minutes, and read the rules on fences, lanais, pools and parking before you write an offer.
Are there lake lots?
A few. A small number of homes back to the neighborhood lake and a few others back to a protected wooded area, and those command a premium. The majority of lots look at another house. If the view is the reason you are buying, be patient and wait for the right lot to list.
Do any homes have pools?
Not so far. Nothing here has been built or retrofitted with one, which makes sense for a neighborhood this new. If a pool is a requirement, plan on adding it yourself, and confirm the lot dimensions, setbacks and the association's approval process before you commit to the purchase.
How is the commute from here?
Short, by Brevard standards. St. Johns Heritage Parkway takes you straight to the Ellis Road interchange at Interstate 95, exit 182, which also puts you close to Melbourne Orlando International Airport. The aerospace and defense employers along Ellis Road and NASA Boulevard are a ten to fifteen minute drive, and US 192 is just south.
How long do homes take to sell here?
It has varied a lot. Some have gone under contract within days and others have taken most of a year. The main variable has been how a home was priced against whatever the builder still had available nearby, which is the normal pattern in a neighborhood this new.
What should I look at in a home this new?
The builder warranty and what transfers, the lot drainage after a heavy rain, the grading and sod at the rear of the lot, any settlement cracking, and the association documents. New does not mean nothing to inspect. Get a full inspection anyway, and walk the yard during a downpour if you can.
Heritage Lakes Boulevard, West Melbourne 32904
The neighborhood sits on the east side of the St. Johns Heritage Parkway, north of US 192, in the part of West Melbourne that opened up when the Ellis Road interchange was built. From US 192 you go north on the parkway and turn in at Heritage Lakes Boulevard, then Dunes Avenue, Barr Street and McFarland Drive. The surroundings are new: new road, new commercial, and more building still going on around it.
Interstate 95 is minutes away at exit 182. Melbourne Orlando International Airport is a short run east on Ellis Road, and the defense and aerospace campuses along Ellis Road and NASA Boulevard are ten to fifteen minutes. US 192 south of the neighborhood carries the shopping and dining, downtown Melbourne is about twenty minutes east, and the Indialantic and Melbourne Beach sand is roughly a half hour by way of the causeway.
Near The Dunes at Heritage Lakes In Merritt Island
Considering The Dunes at Heritage Lakes?
My partner Nichole and I have walked plenty of two year old houses on this side of West Melbourne, and the difference between them is almost never the finishes. It is the lot, the drainage, what the builder left unfinished and how the association is being run. Tell us which plan and which lot you are looking at and we will give you a straight read. Call or text (321) 212-7676.
Welcome to this beautifully maintained 2023 built home in the desirable Dunes at Heritage Lakes community. This spacious single story home offers four bedrooms, two bathr...
- 4 Beds
- 2 Baths
- 1085089 MLS
Offering an assumable 4.99% interest rate! Welcome to this beautifully maintained 2023-built home in the desirable Dunes at Heritage Lakes community. Situated on a premiu...
- 4 Beds
- 2 Baths
- 1079445 MLS
