---
title: "Gated Communities on Amelia Island, Florida: A Buyer's Guide to Each One"
description: "Amelia Island's gated communities, from the 1,350-acre Omni resort enclave to marina and golf neighborhoods: developers, acreage, amenities, HOA/CDD fees, and prices."
published: "2026-06-29"
canonical: "https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/gated-communities-amelia-island-florida"
author: "Everitt Gill"
---

Amelia Island has roughly a half-dozen established gated communities, ranging from the 1,350-acre Omni resort enclave at the island's south end to smaller marina and golf neighborhoods farther north. Each one carries its own developer, amenity set, and covenant structure, and those differences (rental rules, transfer fees, CDD assessments) matter more to your wallet than the gate itself does. Below is a plain read on the main ones, with the numbers a buyer actually needs before writing an offer.

Amelia Island is a 13-mile barrier island at the northeastern tip of Florida in Nassau County, and it earns its reputation for golf: the island's [official travel guide](https://www.ameliaisland.com/travel-guides/golf/) counts 99 holes across five courses, and LINKS Magazine has named it one of the Top 25 Golf Islands in the world. That golf pedigree is why so many of the gated neighborhoods here are built around a course. It also means "gated community" on this island can mean anything from a full resort to a quiet peninsula with a marina, so the label alone tells you almost nothing.

## What is the biggest gated community on Amelia Island?

The largest is the Omni Amelia Island Resort community, a [1,350-acre property](https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/amelia-island) at the island's south end, formerly [Amelia Island Plantation](https://blog.saltharborrealestate.com/blog/amelia-island-plantation). Its resort side runs a 402-room hotel, 46 holes of championship golf, 23 Har-Tru clay tennis courts, seven pickleball courts, and 3.5 miles of private beach access. The residential side is governed by its own homeowners association and layered with covenants that vary by property type.

The land planning here goes back to 1972, when Charles Fraser's Sea Pines Company drew a master plan that (per the [Amelia Island Museum of History](https://ameliamuseum.org/the-history-of-the-amelia-island-plantation/)) set aside more than half the upland acreage and capped density at 1.6 units per acre. That restraint is why the neighborhood still reads as forest and marsh with houses tucked into it, rather than wall-to-wall rooftops.

Access and governance sit with the Amelia Island Plantation Community Association. Per the [AIPCA](https://aipca.net/public-safety/), the community runs 10 controlled-access gates, including a main entrance staffed 24 hours a day, with RFID windshield tags for residents. The board has 11 members: [nine elected by owners and two appointed by Omni](https://aipca.net/need-to-knows/), overseeing 33 sub-associations.

Two covenant details deserve your attention before you fall for a floor plan. First, the AIPCA charges a Contribution to Reserves fee of [0.5% of the sale price](https://aipca.net/need-to-knows/) at each transfer, paid by the buyer, so budget it as a real closing-line number. Second, rental rules split by property class: [Class A homes and villas](https://aipca.net/need-to-knows/) prohibit rentals shorter than 30 days, while Class B condominiums carry no AIPCA rental restriction (though an individual condo sub-association may add its own). If you are buying partly as an income property, that single line decides whether the plan works.

The golf inside the gates is the draw. The Amelia Island Club's Long Point course is a [Tom Fazio design completed in 1987](https://www.ameliaislandclub.com/golf), a [par-72 layout of 6,775 yards](https://www.top100golfcourses.com/golf-course/amelia-island-plantation-long-point) that threads marsh, oak-and-pine forest, and oceanfront dunes, with back-to-back par-3 holes along the water at 15 and 16. On the resort side, the original 1972 [Pete Dye](https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/amelia-island/golf) Oak Marsh course reopened in mid-May 2025 after a renovation by architect Beau Welling, with peak-season guest rates topping out around $245 (a figure reported by GolfPass, not the resort's own rate card).

## Which Amelia Island gated communities are built around golf?

Beyond the Omni enclave, two gated or golf-anchored communities stand out: Amelia National Golf & Country Club on the mainland side, and the Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach near the island's south end. Both center on championship courses; both differ sharply on fees, because one sits inside a Community Development District and one does not.

Amelia National is a gated community planned for [749 homesites at full build-out](https://amelianationalgolf.com/), built by ICI Homes and anchored by an 18-hole Tom Fazio course, a 25,000-square-foot clubhouse, eight Har-Tru tennis courts, and an eight-acre driving range. Its course just came through a $15 million renovation that (per the [Nassau County Chamber of Commerce](https://www.nassaucountyflchamber.com/2026/01/22/ici-homes-amelia-national-golf-course-renovations-complete/)) began in March 2025 and finished that November, re-grassed with TifTuf Bermuda fairways and TifEagle greens. ICI Homes chairman Mori Hosseini framed the spend around the membership: "Every dollar we have invested in this golf course has been made with one purpose in mind: our members."

The number to understand at Amelia National is the CDD. The community was established as a [Community Development District](https://amelianationalcdd.com/) under Nassau County Ordinance No. 2004-01 in January 2004, covering about 876.40 acres, and the district levies bond debt-service and operations assessments that show up on your Nassau County tax bill on top of ordinary property taxes. That is normal for a newer master-planned community, but it is money, so ask for the current per-lot figure before you commit. Florida law backs you up here: any initial residential sale contract inside a CDD must carry a [boldface disclosure right above your signature](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.401.html) warning that these assessments exist.

The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach takes a different shape. Its 18-hole championship course, designed by Mark McCumber and Gene Littler and opened in 1987, sits on a [165-acre parcel](https://concertgolfpartners.com/locations/golf-club-of-amelia-island/) next to the Ritz-Carlton and has been owned by Concert Golf Partners since 2012. The course plays 6,696 yards to a par of 72, with a 72.9 rating and a 140 slope (yardage and rating per GolfPass). It hosts the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance every year, so if you buy nearby, plan around the March crowds. The neighboring [Ritz-Carlton](https://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/jaxam-the-ritz-carlton-amelia-island/overview/) runs 446 guestrooms and holds Audubon Green Lodging certification, which sets the tone for the whole Summer Beach corner.

## Is there a gated marina community on Amelia Island?

Yes. Oyster Bay Harbour is a gated marsh-front community on a private peninsula, built around a deep-water yacht club, on the mainland side near Fernandina Beach. It is the island area's clearest pick for a boat owner, because the marina reaches open water with nothing in the way.

The community's [property owners association](https://www.oysterbaypoa.com/home/) describes a gated peninsula with a Bay House, pool, tennis and pickleball courts, and a playground, all served by the Oyster Bay Yacht Club. The marina itself runs [76 deep-water slips](https://oysterbayyachtclub.com/marina) for boats from 16 to 65 feet, and the club's own site makes the point that matters most to a captain: no bridges, locks, or jetties between the slip and the Atlantic, roughly a 15-minute run to open water. That is rare, and it is the reason a marsh lot here commands a premium.

On builder pricing, [New Atlantic Builders](https://www.newatlanticbuilders.com/communities/oyster-bay-harbour/) lists homes now selling from the $700s, with some units from the $800s. A community overview from a local brokerage site puts the layout at 94 single-family homesites on the peninsula plus 98 villas across roughly 900 acres of marsh; treat those counts as helpful color rather than a primary figure, and confirm the current site plan with the developer.

## What is the difference between a gated resort and a beachfront condo community here?

A gated resort community blends short-stay hotel operations with private homes and shared amenities across hundreds of acres. A gated condo community is a single (or clustered) building with a fixed set of shared facilities and a much tighter covenant. Amelia Surf & Racquet Club is the beachfront-condo version of the idea.

It is a seven-story gated oceanfront community offering studios through three-bedroom units, and per its [official site](https://ameliasurfandracquetclub.com/) the shared amenities include four Har-Tru clay tennis courts (two lighted), two oceanfront pools, two private beach boardwalks, and two assigned parking spaces per condo. Pets are prohibited, so confirm that covenant before you offer if you have a dog or cat. A condo like this trades the acreage and golf of the big enclaves for something simpler: lock-and-leave ownership steps from the sand, with a smaller, more predictable set of dues behind the gate.

Farther north, North Hampton wraps homes around the [Golf Club at North Hampton](https://gcnorthhampton.com/), an Arnold Palmer-designed Scottish links-style course near the Fernandina Beach airport with more than 40 feet of elevation change and ten spring-fed lakes. The course is public, which is to know: you can play the neighborhood's centerpiece without a club membership.

## Amelia Island gated communities at a glance

| Community | Developer / operator | Scale | Golf | Fee to watch | Price signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omni Amelia Island Resort | Omni / AIPCA | 1,350 acres, 33 sub-associations | Long Point (Fazio), Oak Marsh (Dye) | 0.5% Contribution to Reserves at transfer | Broad; varies by class |
| Amelia National | ICI Homes | 749 homesites planned, ~876 acres | 18-hole Fazio | CDD assessments on tax bill | New-construction golf |
| Golf Club of Amelia Island (Summer Beach) | Concert Golf Partners | 165-acre golf parcel | McCumber/Littler, par 72 | Club membership terms | Near Ritz-Carlton |
| Oyster Bay Harbour | New Atlantic Builders | ~900 acres, private peninsula | None (marina) | Marina/slip and POA dues | From the $700s |
| Amelia Surf & Racquet Club | Condo association | Seven-story oceanfront building | None (tennis) | Condo dues; no pets | Entry via studios |

## How much do homes in Amelia Island gated communities cost, and are the gates worth it?

There is no single price, but the countywide floor is a useful anchor: a 2025 market summary from local brokerage Cabana Lane, drawing on Amelia Island-Nassau County Association of Realtors data, put the median single-family sale price at $515,000, with median time to contract up 34% year over year to 59 days and cash still around a third of all transactions. Gated inventory generally sits above that median, and the research on why is more nuanced than "gates add value."

A [Florida Atlantic University study](https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/study-shows-homes-in-gated-communities-command-higher-prices.php) published in the Journal of Real Estate Research found homes in gated communities sell for roughly a $30,000 premium over comparable non-gated properties. But the same study found that layering on amenities pulls sale prices down by about $19,500, because owners carry the maintenance. As co-author Ken Johnson put it, "the long-held belief that gates add value is supported by the data, as long as the impact of the amenities is properly factored in." His co-author Mark Sunderman was blunter: "while a gate has value, additional neighborhood amenities do not always provide additional value."

Read practically, that is not a reason to skip a gated community. It is a reason to buy the right one for how you will actually live. A golfer who plays four times a week captures value from a Fazio course that a non-golfer would just be paying to mow. Someone who keeps a boat gets real utility from Oyster Bay's bridge-free run to the Atlantic that a landlocked buyer would not. The fee that looks like dead weight to one buyer is the whole point of the purchase to another. Matching the amenity load to your life is exactly the judgment a local agent earns their keep on, because the study's premium and its discount both live inside these communities, and only someone who knows each covenant street by street can tell you which side of the ledger a specific listing lands on. This is the kind of read the Salt Harbor Real Estate team handles before you tour, not after you have fallen for a lot.

The other thing a local guide watches is the fine print the state already forces into the open. Under [Florida Statute 720.401](https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0720/Sections/0720.401.html), any buyer in a mandatory HOA must receive a disclosure summary before signing, covering regular and special assessments, lien risk, and rental restrictions, plus a non-waivable three-day cancellation right if that summary arrives late. Nassau County had [six active Community Development Districts](https://www.nassaucountyfl.com/1285/Community-Development-District) in 2025, including Amelia National, so the CDD line on a tax bill is common here, not a red flag. Reading those documents closely is where a buyer avoids a surprise, and where an experienced agent turns a covenant packet into a negotiating point.

For all the paperwork, the reason people chase a gate on this island is the island itself. Nassau County tourism generated [more than $1.2 billion in economic impact in 2023](https://www.ameliaisland.com/partner-resource-page/value-of-tourism/) and supports about 12,700 jobs, and Fernandina Beach's downtown historic district holds more than 400 structures on the National Register. Buying behind a gate here is buying into a place with a working town, deep golf, and open water, and the households who do it well are the ones who picked the community that fits, not the one with the longest amenity list.

## FAQ

**Do all gated communities on Amelia Island charge CDD fees?**
No. A Community Development District is a specific financing tool, not a feature of every gated neighborhood. Amelia National sits inside the Amelia National CDD (about 876.40 acres, established by Nassau County ordinance in 2004), so its assessments appear on the county tax bill. Nassau County listed six active CDDs in 2025. Older gated communities like the Omni enclave are governed by an HOA instead, with its own fees rather than CDD assessments.

**Can I rent out a home I buy in the Omni Amelia Island Resort community?**
It depends on the property class. Under AIPCA covenants, Class A single-family homes and villas prohibit rentals shorter than 30 days. Class B condominiums carry no AIPCA rental restriction, though an individual condo sub-association may impose its own. Confirm the exact rule for the specific unit before you buy if rental income is part of your plan.

**What is the Contribution to Reserves fee at the Omni community?**
The AIPCA Contribution to Reserves is 0.5% of the sale price, paid by the buyer at each property transfer. On a $1 million purchase that is $5,000, so budget it as a real closing-line cost, separate from ordinary HOA dues.

**Which Amelia Island gated community is best for boaters?**
Oyster Bay Harbour is the standout for boat owners. Its Oyster Bay Yacht Club marina has 76 deep-water slips for boats from 16 to 65 feet, with no bridges, locks, or jetties between the marina and the open Atlantic, roughly a 15-minute run to open water.

**Are Amelia Island's gated golf courses private or public?**
Both exist. The Amelia Island Club's Long Point course and Amelia National's course are tied to membership, while the Golf Club at North Hampton is a public Arnold Palmer-designed course. The Golf Club of Amelia Island at Summer Beach is operated by Concert Golf Partners. Check each community's membership terms, because "gated" does not always mean the course is members-only.