Lakes at Laurel Highlands is a single-family home community built by D.R. Horton off Grandbury Grove Road in South Lakeland, Polk County, in the 33811 area (D.R. Horton community listings and Polk County real estate guides, 2026). It is a newer, master-planned neighborhood set around ponds and conservation areas, with the central amenity center as its social hub.
The community is described as a relatively compact D.R. Horton neighborhood, with multiple sources citing a plan to build on the order of dozens of homes rather than a sprawling master plan; confirm the final lot count and current phase with the builder or HOA. Floor plans run from one to two stories with roughly three to five bedrooms and two-car garages, with several plans offered; confirm the exact plan, size, and configuration for any specific home.
Because this is a builder community, the money is made or lost on the plan, the lot, and the HOA, not on the address alone. The drivers are the floor plan and lot premium, the HOA dues and what they cover, whether a Community Development District (CDD) assessment applies, and how resale behaves while the builder still has inventory, all of which should be read from the current HOA documents and a tax-record check for the exact home.
The pitch is a newer South Lakeland address with amenities and an easy position between Tampa and Orlando. The community is roughly a short drive from Downtown Lakeland, about thirty miles east of Tampa and roughly sixty miles southwest of Orlando, with the Polk Parkway and major corridors nearby. The work is the diligence: read the HOA budget, confirm the CDD status, and check the lot and plan before you buy.
