Star Farms Has Four Amenity Campuses. Here's Which Ones Are Actually Open.

Curated by Theresa DiNapoli

Ask anyone who tours Star Farms what makes it different from other new builds in Lakewood Ranch, and you'll hear some version of the same answer: four separate resort campuses instead of one clubhouse everybody has to share. It's the headline in builder brochures and listing descriptions everywhere. What those brochures don't always make clear is that "four campuses" describes the finished master plan, not necessarily what's open the week you move in.

As of September 2026, The Resort Club is the only campus with a developer-announced grand opening. D.R. Horton listing copy still circulating this year continues to describe Junction Place and Cabana Corner as "future amenity centers." If you live in Star Farms or you're weighing a resale here, that distinction is the difference between planning your Saturday around a splash pad that exists and one that's still a rendering.

The Resort Club: The Campus That's Actually Open

The Resort Club is the original amenity build, and it's the one with a real operating history. Its first phase celebrated its grand opening on April 13, 2024, with a resort-style pool and spa, poolside cabanas and beach areas, a pet park, the Star Fit fitness and performance center, and Trade Route Coffee Shop for the morning crowd. (Forestar announcement)

In June 2025, the campus added its first restaurant: The Palm Bar, a poolside spot with alfresco dining. The menu runs toward grill items, fresh salads, and frozen drinks, which fits its role as a casual poolside stop rather than a destination dinner. Its three-day grand opening, June 5 through 7, drew nearly 800 residents and guests, according to the developer. (Forestar announcement)

The Palm Bar is still the closest thing Star Farms has to a neighborhood restaurant. For a resident deciding between a drive to Lakewood Ranch Main Street or Waterside Place and a casual bite close to home, it's the option that doesn't require leaving the gates.

This is the part of the community that works the way the brochure describes it. If you're picturing a resort pool, coffee before work, and dinner by the water, The Resort Club is where that happens today, whichever section of Star Farms your address sits in.

Not everything planned for The Resort Club is finished, though. The Terrace (a Chef's Patio concept), an events center, and a mail kiosk were listed for future phases in the developer's 2024 announcements, and no opening for them has been announced since. (Forestar announcement)

What "Future Phase" Still Means

Here's where the map gets less certain. D.R. Horton listing copy in use this year describes Junction Place and Cabana Corner in a different tense entirely: "Future amenity centers, Junction Place & Cabana Corner, will include a Baseball Field, Tennis, Pickleball & Basketball Courts, Golf Cart Parking, Playground, Clubhouse, Resort Pools & Splash Pad, Poolside Cabanas, Sand Volleyball, Poolside Grilling, Pet Park and more." (example listing)

That same listing language also still calls a poolside bar and grill a "future phase" of The Resort Club, even though The Palm Bar has been open since June 2025. That's the real lesson: marketing copy for a master-planned community often gets written once and rarely revised as construction phases in. Builder listings, aggregator sites, and community profiles all lag, just in different directions. Some sites present all four campuses in the present tense as if fully built. Others even disagree on what a campus is, describing Adventure Retreat as a family splash zone when the developer plans it as an active-adult retreat.

Forestar's own amenity disclosures build in the same caveat: the timing of amenity programming and final plans can change, and market conditions and the pace of home closings determine when a given amenity opens. That's normal language for a phased build. It does mean a family buying into Star Farms for the promise of a splash pad at Junction Place should confirm that amenity is open, not assume it from a listing photo.

Adventure Retreat, the campus designed for active-adult residents, is planned around a private pool, a wellness center, and indoor space for games, clubs, and activities. (Star Farms amenities page) No developer announcement gives a completion date for it, so the honest answer to "is Adventure Retreat open yet" is to ask the sales office directly rather than rely on a community profile.

The Four Campuses at a Glance

Here's how the four campuses break down based on what's documented, not just marketed, as of September 2026:

Saddlestone: New Homes Now, Amenity Plans Still Ahead

Star Farms isn't standing still. Saddlestone, the newest neighborhood, was announced in November 2024 and broke ground shortly after. It adds more than 570 acres and 1,300 homesites, bringing Star Farms to nearly 1,300 acres and 2,800 lots, the largest village in Lakewood Ranch. (Lakewood Ranch announcement)

Phase 1 includes 300 homesites near Bourneside Boulevard and 44th Avenue East, set along the property's natural features, and it is now selling. In February 2026, Forestar also announced that Star Farms was the No. 1 selling community in Lakewood Ranch for 2025. (Forestar announcement)

Some buyer guides say Saddlestone will bring four more amenity centers of its own, for eight campuses across Star Farms and Saddlestone combined. That's forward-looking language from parties selling homes, not a build schedule from the developer, so treat it as a direction rather than a date. What is confirmed is the expansion itself and the 300-homesite first phase.

Where That Leaves a Tuesday Afternoon

None of this means Star Farms feels unfinished day to day. The trails, greenways, pet park, and The Resort Club's pool deck work exactly as advertised, and a coffee run to Trade Route or a Friday dinner at The Palm Bar is already part of community life.

What's worth knowing, especially if you're comparing a resale against the builder's current inventory, is that the four-campus system on every site map is the finished vision. The finished vision and this week's reality aren't the same thing yet.

Thinking about Star Farms or Saddlestone? Before you tour, get a clear read on which amenities are open today and which are still on the builder's timeline. Reach out to Theresa DiNapoli at 203-249-0747 or schedule a conversation for a straight answer, not just a site plan.