The Complete Madeira Guide. (2026)

Executive Summary

Madeira is a gated master-planned community on the Intracoastal Waterway in north St. Augustine, St. Johns County, and the closest planned community to the historic old city, about 4 miles from downtown. It spans 1,006 acres with more than 600 acres of preserved marsh, wetland, tidal creek, and lakes laced with live oaks and magnolias, which gives the community its marsh-front, Old Florida character. Dating to around 2012, Madeira has continued to add phases, and it is still building today.

Madeira is a multi-builder community rather than a single-builder subdivision. Phases and builders have included Estuary at Madeira by Toll Brothers, the newer Riviera at Madeira by ICI Homes, and custom builders such as AR Homes, Mastercraft, and Dostie Homes, alongside an established Phase 1. New-construction homes have generally started in the $600,000s, with ICI’s Riviera at Madeira custom residences recently priced from roughly $935,000 into the $1.1 millions and full custom homes reaching well above $1 million. This is the upper end of St. Augustine new construction.

The setting is the draw. Madeira sits along the Intracoastal and the Tolomato River with marsh and lake-view homesites, a gated entry, and an amenity center with a pool, a clubhouse, a fitness center, and Intracoastal fishing access, minutes from historic downtown St. Augustine and Vilano Beach. It carries a CDD assessment plus HOA dues, and it is zoned to the top-rated St. Johns County School District. This guide covers the builders, the pricing, the phases, the CDD and HOA, the schools, the location, and the honest trade-offs of buying new, including why you bring your own agent to the builder.

Quick Facts

Community Overview & History

A gated master plan at the gates of the old city

Madeira is a gated, master-planned community in north St. Augustine, often described as the closest planned community to the historic old city. It dates to around 2012, when its first phase established the community, and it has continued to develop newer phases over the years. The plan covers 1,006 acres, with more than 600 acres of unspoiled marsh wetland, a tidal creek, lakes, and preserved natural areas laced with ancient live oaks and blossoming magnolias, which gives Madeira its Old Florida, marsh-front identity rather than the dense subdivision feel found elsewhere.

The Intracoastal setting

What defines Madeira is its position along the Intracoastal Waterway and the Tolomato River. Many homesites are laid out to capture marsh, creek, or lake views, with privacy and a front-row perspective on protected wetlands. For buyers who want a coastal, nature-rich setting close to the old city rather than an inland subdivision, that Intracoastal frontage is the heart of the community’s appeal.

Minutes from historic St. Augustine

Madeira sits about 4 miles from historic downtown St. Augustine, with its 450 years of landmarks, restaurants, and waterfront, and roughly 10 minutes from Vilano Beach. World-class golf and the Atlantic coastline are close by, and metropolitan Jacksonville is a drive north. That blend of a gated, marsh-front setting with immediate access to the oldest city is rare among Northeast Florida master plans.

Homes & Floor Plans

Madeira is a multi-builder community, so the decision starts with which builder and phase fits your budget and timeline, then moves to the floor plan and the homesite.

The builders and phases

Madeira has been built out by several luxury and custom builders rather than one. Estuary at Madeira is a gated Toll Brothers phase with five single- and two-story designs from about 2,888 to 4,140 square feet, with luxurious included features and personalization at the Toll Brothers Jacksonville Design Studio. Riviera at Madeira is the newer phase by ICI Homes, a custom builder, on oversized 75-foot-wide homesites with sweeping marsh views and a model coming soon. Custom builders such as AR Homes, Mastercraft, and Dostie Homes have also built in Madeira, alongside an established Phase 1 of resale homes and earlier builders. The range runs from production-luxury floor plans to fully custom homes.

Home sizes

Across the builders and phases, Madeira homes range from about 1,600 square feet in the smaller, older homes up to 4,140 square feet in the larger Toll Brothers designs, with custom homes built to order. Most are single or two-story with two-car garages, and the newer luxury phases lean toward larger plans on wider homesites with marsh and lake views.

Pricing context

Madeira spans a wide price range because of the builder mix. New-construction homes have generally started in the $600,000s, with Toll Brothers’ Estuary homes running larger, ICI Homes’ Riviera at Madeira custom residences recently priced from roughly $935,000 into the $1.1 millions, and full custom builders reaching well above $1 million. Resale homes in the established phases have started lower. Confirm current pricing and available homesites with each builder, since Madeira is a multi-builder community and the numbers move with phase and builder.

The Market & Pricing

Madeira sits at the upper end of St. Augustine new construction, pairing a gated, Intracoastal setting with the top-rated St. Johns County school district. New homes have generally started in the $600,000s and run into custom homes above $1 million. Confirm current pricing directly with each builder, since Madeira spans several builders and phases.

The pitch is a gated, marsh-front address at the gates of the old city, in the top-rated district, with a builder range that runs from luxury production homes to full custom. That positioning puts Madeira above most St. Augustine communities on price, and well above value plays like St. Augustine Lakes a few minutes south. Marsh-front and oversized homesites carry premiums, custom builds carry their own budgeting realities, and the recurring CDD and HOA add to the monthly. Builder incentives such as rate buydowns and design credits appear in the current market, so it pays to ask, and to have representation comparing builders.

For context, Momentum tracks the wider Jacksonville metro at a 97.98 percent sold-to-list ratio and 64 days on market for our agents, against a RealMLS market average closer to 96.73 percent and 72 days, year to date. In a luxury, multi-builder community like Madeira, builder pricing, lot premiums, and the choice between builders matter more than broad comps, which is where an agent who knows the community pays off.

Who Lives Here

Madeira draws buyers who want a gated, Intracoastal setting and a luxury or custom home close to historic St. Augustine. The mix skews toward move-up and luxury buyers, professionals and remote workers who want marsh views and a quiet, gated address, second-home and relocation buyers drawn to the St. Augustine coast, and empty-nesters building a custom home for the long term.

Many are relocating from higher-cost markets and trading up into a marsh-front home, or are St. Augustine and St. Johns County residents moving up into a gated community near the old city. The combination of the Intracoastal setting, the builder range, and the top-rated schools gives Madeira a distinctly upscale profile among St. Augustine communities, with the old city and the beaches as the everyday backdrop.

Schools

Madeira is served by the St. Johns County School District, which consistently ranks as the top-rated district in Florida. Specific elementary, middle, and high school assignments depend on the address and on St. Johns County’s attendance boundaries, which shift as the fast-growing county adds capacity. Families should confirm the exact current zoned schools for a specific Madeira address with the district.

The district’s overall rating is one of the reasons buyers pay a premium across St. Johns County, and it supports home values. Buyers prioritizing a specific school should verify both the zoned assignment for the address and any choice or magnet options with the St. Johns County School District before relying on a particular placement.

Amenities & Lifestyle

Madeira’s lifestyle pairs a gated amenity package with the natural setting and the old city next door.

The amenity center

Madeira is a gated community with an amenity center that includes a pool and cabana, a clubhouse, and a fitness center, with additional lifestyle features planned as the community grows. The amenities are positioned as gathering and recreation spaces for residents rather than a sprawling resort campus, in keeping with the community’s upscale, lower-density character.

The marsh and the water

The defining amenity is the natural setting. Madeira’s 600-plus acres of preserved marsh and wetland, its tidal creek and lakes, and its frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and the Tolomato River give residents marsh and water views and Intracoastal fishing access. For buyers who value a coastal, preserve-oriented setting, that frontage and the protected acreage are the real draw.

Historic St. Augustine and the beaches

Madeira sits about 4 miles from historic downtown St. Augustine, with its restaurants, shops, and 450 years of landmarks, and roughly 10 minutes from Vilano Beach, with the wider Atlantic coastline and area golf courses close by. Few gated communities at this level sit this close to a destination like the oldest city.

HOA & CDD

Madeira carries the fee structure typical of a gated St. Johns County master plan, and it is worth understanding before you commit.

There is a CDD. Madeira is served by a Community Development District, which funds and maintains the community’s infrastructure and amenities through an assessment on the property tax bill. Recent figures have run in the range of about $1,900 to $3,200 a year depending on lot size. Confirm the exact current CDD figure for a specific homesite, since it varies by lot and changes as bonds are paid down.

There is also an HOA. On top of the CDD, Madeira carries homeowners association dues, recently around $396 a quarter, which cover the gated entry, the amenities, and the common areas, and which some sources note include services such as internet. Confirm the current HOA amount and exactly what it includes, since this can differ by phase and builder.

What the fees buy is the gated infrastructure, the preserved acreage, the amenity center, and the maintenance of a marsh-front community, with the CDD assessment paying back the infrastructure over time. For buyers comparing Madeira with a no-CDD community like Terrapin Creek in North Jacksonville, the question is whether the Intracoastal setting, the gated character, and the old-city location justify the higher recurring cost. For buyers set on this lifestyle, they often do.

Model the true all-in monthly. The mortgage, the CDD assessment, the HOA dues, the marsh-front insurance considerations, and the post-first-year property-tax reset on a new build all factor in. A good agent will help you build the real all-in monthly for a specific Madeira homesite, and weigh a production-luxury home against a custom build, before you commit.

Commute Analysis

Madeira’s north St. Augustine location puts the old city and the beaches at the doorstep, with Jacksonville a drive north.

Madeira sits in north St. Augustine along the US-1 and coastal corridor, which puts historic downtown and Vilano Beach about 10 minutes away and the wider beaches a short drive. I-95 is roughly 15 to 20 minutes inland, and from there the Jacksonville Southside and St. Johns Town Center are about 40 to 50 minutes north. For buyers who work in St. Augustine or remotely, or who want the old city as a home base, the location fits beautifully. The trade-off is the longer commute to the core Jacksonville job centers and the airport, so Madeira suits St. Augustine-oriented and remote buyers more than daily Jacksonville commuters.

Shopping & Dining

Madeira’s everyday shopping and dining run along the US-1 corridor and into historic downtown St. Augustine, about 10 minutes away, which offers one of the region’s deepest restaurant, boutique, and cultural scenes along its cobblestone streets and waterfront. The St. Augustine outlets and the SR-16 retail corridor add big-box shopping and grocery within a short drive.

Vilano Beach, minutes away, adds waterfront dining and a small-town beach district, and the wider St. Augustine area carries the grocery, healthcare, and services that anchor daily life, including Flagler Hospital to the south. For destination shopping, the St. Johns Town Center on the Jacksonville Southside is about 40 to 50 minutes north. For day-to-day life, the old city and the US-1 corridor cover most needs close to home.

Pros and Cons

Madeira vs. Comparable Communities

Most buyers weighing Madeira are comparing it with other upscale St. Johns County communities and with the value plays nearby. Here is the honest shorthand.

Hidden Things Buyers Should Know

A few things that consistently come up once buyers get serious about a gated, multi-builder, marsh-front community like Madeira.

Budget the CDD and the marsh-front insurance

Recent CDD figures here have run from about $1,900 to $3,200 a year by lot size, on top of an HOA of roughly $396 a quarter. Add to that the insurance and flood considerations that come with a marsh-front, coastal location. Get the specific CDD figure for a homesite and a real insurance quote before you decide, because the all-in monthly on a marsh-front home is what you actually live with.

Compare the builders, not just the models

Madeira is a multi-builder community, so the same budget can buy very different homes depending on whether you go with a production-luxury builder like Toll Brothers, a custom builder like ICI or AR Homes, or a resale in the established phase. Each path has different pricing, timelines, and personalization. Comparing them with representation is where buyers protect themselves.

The newer phases carry the wider lots

Some of the older-phase lots are smaller, while the newer phases like Riviera at Madeira offer oversized 75-foot-wide homesites with sweeping marsh views. If lot width and views matter to you, focus on the newer phases, and understand the premium that comes with the best marsh-front homesites.

Register your agent before you visit

Each builder’s sales team works for that builder. Many builders will not let you add representation after you register on your own, so bring your agent in before your first model visit, at no cost to you in most cases since the builder pays the buyer-agent commission. In a multi-builder community, that representation also helps you weigh one builder against another.

Momentum Expert Insight

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Reading

If you are researching Madeira, you are likely also weighing these other St. Johns County and St. Augustine communities. We have written guides on each.