Community Details at a Glance
The Homes
Product
Modern townhomes (the Villas at Kettering, two and three bedroom plans with garages) plus a smaller run of David Weekley and Providence single-family
Builder
David Weekley Homes and Providence Homes, recent construction from about 2020 onward
Sizes
Townhomes roughly 1,200 to 2,400 square feet; the single-family homes run larger
Ownership
Fee-simple townhome and single-family within the eTown master plan, not condo
Costs & Fees
HOA
Kettering carries an HOA that funds the eTown amenity access and HOA-maintained landscaping; confirm the current figure for your specific home
CDD
eTown carries a community development district; confirm the balance and annual amount on the tax bill for the specific address
Reality
You are paying for the eTown brand and the Recharge amenity center as much as the square footage, so comp within Kettering, not the eTown-wide blend
Amenities
Recharge
Residents access the eTown Recharge amenity center at 10571 eTown Parkway, with a resort pool, lap pool, and fitness center
Landscaping
HOA-maintained landscaping on the townhomes for a lock-and-leave lifestyle
Trails
Trails, event lawn, playground, and dog park within eTown
Lots
Pond and preserve homesites carry a premium over interior units
Location
Setting
Southside Jacksonville inside the eTown master plan, near Florida 9B and I-295, ZIP 32256
Shopping
St. Johns Town Center about 10 minutes, with The Exchange at eTown for daily errands
Access
Minutes to Florida 9B, I-295, and J. Turner Butler Boulevard
Medical
Mayo Clinic corridor about 15 minutes
The Homes & Style
Kettering at eTown is mostly a townhome address inside one of the Southside's most marketed master plans, with a smaller run of single-family homes mixed in. The townhomes, marketed as the Villas at Kettering and built by David Weekley Homes, are modern two and three bedroom plans with garages, including layouts with a two-car tandem garage and HOA-maintained landscaping for low-maintenance living.
The buyer pool is first-time buyers entering through the townhomes, Southside and Mayo-corridor professionals who want a lock-and-leave home, and move-up buyers who want the eTown brand and the Recharge amenity center without single-family upkeep.
Recent construction from about 2020 onward means roof age is generally not a concern, which matters for insurance in this market.
Kettering is really two products behind one name, and the one you pick changes the price, the upkeep, and the comp set.
The townhomes are the volume product and the entry door, the most liquid and lowest-priced way into eTown.
The single-family homes by Providence Homes are the larger, higher-priced product, and they comp against the broader eTown single-family streets, not the townhomes.
Units that back to a pond or preserve carry a premium over interior townhomes for the view and the added quiet.
Aggregator and eTown-wide averages blend townhomes and single-family across the master plan, so always comp within Kettering and within your product line, not the eTown-wide number.
Living Here
The draw is the eTown amenity package, anchored by the Recharge amenity center, layered onto a low-maintenance townhome.
Recharge at 10571 eTown Parkway is the five-acre centerpiece, with a zero-entry resort pool, a lap pool, a fitness center, an outdoor yoga lawn, a playground, and a dog park.
HOA-maintained landscaping and the townhome layout give residents a lock-and-leave lifestyle in a central Southside location.
The trail network, event lawn, and gathering spaces run through eTown and are shared by all of its neighborhoods.
St. Johns Town Center sits about 10 minutes away for big-box and upscale retail and dining, while The Exchange at eTown and the Southside corridors cover everyday groceries and errands minutes from the community.
Kettering's amenities and landscaping are funded by the HOA, and eTown carries a CDD on the tax bill; confirm both, and what each covers, for the specific home so the full carrying cost is in your math.
Kettering prices against the eTown brand and amenities, so confirm recent comparable Kettering sales by product line rather than leaning on an eTown-wide average.
Before You Offer
Jacksonville sees coastal, river, and creek flooding, but the eTown area sits inland on the Southside, and many of its streets fall in lower-risk zones. Jacksonville participates in the FEMA Community Rating System at a class 6, which earns flood-insurance discounts of about 10 percent for homes outside a special flood hazard area and about 20 percent for homes inside one.
The reliable move is to pull the FEMA flood designation for the exact Kettering at eTown address before you write an offer, since two homes nearby can fall in different zones. A home in Zone X can cost far less to insure than one near water. Get a bindable flood and homeowners quote during your inspection period, and on a townhome confirm what the HOA insures on the structure versus what you insure, so the cost is in your monthly math before you commit.
The Jacksonville metro is served by Xfinity (Comcast) cable across nearly all addresses and by AT&T with fiber to a growing share of newer Southside communities. If working from home matters, confirm the options, and fiber in particular, at the specific Kettering address rather than assuming.
Duval County total millage runs roughly 17.9 to 18.5 mills depending on the taxing district, and eTown carries a CDD assessment that is billed on top of the millage and is not reduced by the homestead exemption. The Florida homestead exemption for 2026 is 51,411 dollars for those who qualify, and the deadline to file a new homestead exemption is March 1.
The trap to plan for is the post-sale reset: when you buy, the Save Our Homes cap from the previous owner ends and the assessed value resets to the new just value, so your second-year tax bill is often higher than the seller's current one. Budget the true number, and confirm the CDD balance and annual amount for the specific Kettering home before you commit.
Comparisons
Kettering's natural cross-shops are the other low-maintenance townhome and amenity-rich addresses on the Southside and along the Bartram corridor. Against Bayberry at Bartram Park, a townhome community a short drive south, Kettering trades a slightly older Bartram-area address for the newer eTown brand, the Recharge amenity center, and a 9B and I-295 location, while both deliver a lock-and-leave townhome with HOA-maintained landscaping. Against the broader single-family eTown neighborhoods, Kettering gives up lot size and yard for a lower entry price and less upkeep. And against the older Southside townhome stock near the Town Center, Kettering wins on construction era, which underwrites more cleanly on insurance, while giving ground on price. The honest summary: Kettering wins on the eTown amenity package and the recent build, and asks you to pay an HOA and a CDD for it, so the value turns on whether you use the amenities and comp within Kettering.
Who It Fits
Kettering fits the first-time buyer who wants a newer, low-maintenance townhome with a garage inside a brand-name master plan, the Southside or Mayo-corridor professional who wants a lock-and-leave home near 9B and I-295, and the buyer who will actually use the Recharge amenity center and the eTown trails. It also fits the buyer who values recent construction for cleaner insurance underwriting. It does not fit the buyer who wants a large lot or yard, the buyer chasing the lowest possible carrying cost with no HOA or CDD, or the buyer who wants an established, mature-canopy neighborhood; for those, the older Southside single-family streets are the better target. And anyone who comps Kettering off an eTown-wide blended average, rather than within Kettering and within their product line, will misread the value.























































