Cascades at World Golf Village

Cascades at World Golf Village is a gated, age-restricted community of roughly 450 single-family homes built within the roughly 6,300-acre World Golf Village master-planned development in St. Johns County, near St. Augustine. Development began in 2004 under original developer Levitt and Sons, but that company’s bankruptcy during the 2007-2008 housing downturn interrupted construction; Dock Street Communities, financed by York Capital, purchased the then-bankrupt property out of Wachovia Bank receivership in October 2009 and completed the remaining development phases, ultimately reaching seven total phases and full build-out. This history is worth disclosing plainly: early buyers experienced a genuine mid-construction developer failure and a period of incomplete amenities before the community stabilized under new ownership. Despite carrying the "World Golf Village" name and being located near the community’s two championship courses (King & Bear, designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus with Bobby Weed, and Slammer & Squire, designed by Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen with Bobby Weed), Cascades has no golf course of its own, and golf access is sold as a separate, optional paid membership rather than bundled into HOA dues — a real expectation-versus-reality gap for buyers assuming golf comes included given the community’s branding. Cascades instead centers on its own substantial 22,000-square-foot "Grand Clubhouse," featuring a ballroom, billiards and card rooms, an arts and crafts studio with a kiln, a computer learning center, multiple fitness rooms, an indoor heated saltwater pool alongside an outdoor pool, tennis, pickleball, and bocce courts. HOA dues, reported at roughly $1,260 per quarter, notably include a DirecTV package and an in-home monitored security system in addition to full lawn care and the guarded gate, and the community carries no separate Community Development District fee, an advantage relative to many comparable newer Florida 55-plus communities. The broader World Golf Village identity that Cascades markets itself as part of has experienced real, well-documented decline and legal uncertainty in recent years: the World Golf Hall of Fame closed in September 2023 and relocated to Pinehurst, North Carolina; PGA Tour Productions relocated to Ponte Vedra Beach; and the county-owned IMAX theater at World Golf Village closed abruptly in December 2024. The World Golf Foundation subsequently sued the master developer, IT Land Associates LLC, in February 2025, arguing that 1996 deed restrictions confining a core 36.7-acre parcel to golf and entertainment uses were no longer necessary given the Hall of Fame and PGA Productions departures; a circuit judge granted summary judgment for the developer in July 2026, upholding those restrictions through 2046 absent a negotiated resolution, and St. Johns County has since stated publicly that "World Golf Village isn’t dead yet" while a path forward remains uncertain. This litigation does not directly involve the Cascades HOA and no lawsuit naming Cascades itself was found in this research, but it is directly relevant context: it signals real uncertainty in the shared amenity identity and redevelopment prospects of the surrounding area that the community’s name and marketing lean on. Flood risk at Cascades is rated minor by third-party risk modeling, while wildfire risk is rated moderate, consistent with most inland North Florida properties; this research found no Cascades-specific homeowners insurance premium figure, only general St. Johns County estimates in the roughly $2,800 to $5,500-plus per year range.

Age Restriction

Cascades at World Golf Village is consistently described across multiple sources as an age-restricted, guard-gated community for residents 55 and older. This research found no source citing the community’s own governing documents for the specific "80/20" occupancy formula (requiring at least 80 percent of units to have a resident 55 or older) that most Florida 55-plus HOAs use to maintain their federal Housing for Older Persons Act exemption; this is standard industry practice rather than a confirmed Cascades-specific policy and should be verified directly with the HOA.

Housing Types

• One-story, single-family, detached homes with attached 2-car garages

Pricing

The original developer, Levitt and Sons, filed for bankruptcy during the 2007-2008 housing downturn, interrupting construction before Dock Street Communities purchased the property from Wachovia Bank in October 2009 and completed the remaining phases across a total of seven development phases, reaching roughly 450 single-family homes at build-out; early buyers dealt with a real, disclosed mid-construction developer failure and a period of incomplete amenities before the community stabilized under its new owner. Homes run roughly 1,540 to 2,560 square feet with 2-4 bedrooms and 2-3 bathrooms, though exact size figures vary slightly by source. Reported pricing also varies by snapshot: a general description cites a historical range of the low $300,000s to low $500,000s, while active-listing snapshots (both dated to August 2026) disagree on both listing count and low-end price, ranging from roughly $269,000 to $539,000 depending on the source; recent recorded sales showed a median sold price of roughly $381,900. This research recommends treating these as approximate, dated figures rather than a single current number.

Fees & Assessments

HOA Dues: HOA dues are reported at approximately $1,260 per quarter (roughly $420 per month), which reportedly includes full lawn care (mowing, weeding, trimming, mulching, and fertilization), irrigation, landscaping, the guarded and staffed gate, a DirecTV package, an in-home monitored security system, and extensive social and clubhouse programming. The community has no Community Development District fee, a genuine advantage relative to many newer-build Florida 55-plus communities that do carry CDD bond assessments. No specific dollar figure for a capital contribution or ownership-transfer fee was found in this research; Florida law caps HOA estoppel fees at $10 and typically assigns estoppel fees to sellers and capital contributions to buyers, but Cascades’s own specific figure should be confirmed through a title company or directly with the HOA before closing.

Club/Golf Fees: Golf is not bundled into HOA dues at Cascades — it is a separate, optional, paid membership through the World Golf Village golf operation (covering the King & Bear and Slammer & Squire championship courses), despite the community’s "World Golf Village" name and marketing emphasis on golf-course proximity. One unverified search-derived claim suggested residents receive exclusive access to those courses as part of community membership, but this is not corroborated by any specific citable source and conflicts with the golf operation’s own described paid-membership structure, so it should not be treated as confirmed; the safer, better-supported conclusion is that golf access is a distinct paid product on top of HOA dues.

Amenities

• 22,000-square-foot "Grand Clubhouse" with a multi-purpose ballroom and performance stage
• Billiards, darts, and card and poker rooms
• Arts and crafts studio with a potter’s wheel and ceramic kiln
• Computer/learning center and a library/media room
• Multiple fitness rooms and men’s and women’s spa/locker rooms with sauna
• Outdoor pool plus a separate indoor heated saltwater pool and hot tub
• Outdoor kitchen and entertaining area
• 3 lighted Har-Tru tennis courts, pickleball courts, 2 lighted bocce ball courts, and shuffleboard courts
• Guard-gated entrance with 24/7 monitored access

Getting Around

Healthcare: Spartan Orthopedic Institute, an orthopedic specialty clinic rather than a full hospital, is cited at roughly 0.7 miles from the community. Flagler Hospital operates a roughly 20,000-square-foot acute-care and emergency-room satellite center at the nearby World Commerce Center within World Golf Village, though this research could not confirm the exact distance from Cascades itself or identify the nearest full-service hospital campus with confidence; this should be verified with a direct mapping check before publication.

Airport: Jacksonville International Airport is reported at roughly 43.5 to 43.8 miles, or about a 48-minute drive — notably farther than the "close to Jacksonville" framing sometimes used in marketing copy, and worth independently verifying against a live map service before publication. Nearby shopping includes Parkway Village within World Golf Village (anchored by a Publix, a Chase Bank, Starbucks, and Panera Bread), a GreenWise Market near State Road 16 and International Golf Parkway, and St. Augustine Premium Outlets a short drive away.