Lee County's Four Life Plan Communities, Compared From the State's Records

Which life plan communities does Florida list in Lee County?

A life plan community, or continuing care retirement community (CCRC), sells continuing care contracts under Chapter 651 of the Florida Statutes: housing now, with access to assisted living and nursing care later, usually for an entrance fee plus monthly fees. The Office of Insurance Regulation's October 2025 map lists 74 such communities statewide and four in Lee County: Shell Point Retirement Community and Cypress Cove at HealthPark Florida in south Fort Myers, Gulf Coast Village in Cape Coral and The Terraces at Bonita Springs.

Many other Lee County buildings call themselves retirement communities, but if they do not sell continuing care contracts they are not CCRCs under Florida law.

What care is licensed on each Lee County campus?

OIR regulates the contracts and finances, but the care inside is licensed and inspected by AHCA, and nursing units certified for Medicare are rated by CMS. The table matches each community to the AHCA licenses on its campus.

Sources: Florida OIR CCRC map (October 2025); AHCA FloridaHealthFinder, retrieved November 6, 2026; CMS Care Compare, data as of October 1, 2026.

How do the four campuses differ?

Shell Point, opened in the late 1960s near Iona, is by far the largest, with several assisted living and memory care buildings and its own nursing center. Cypress Cove sits beside HealthPark Medical Center, which puts a hospital within walking distance. Gulf Coast Village is Cape Coral's only life plan community and is close to Cape Coral Hospital. The Terraces, on the Tamiami Trail near the Collier line, draws residents who use both Lee Health and Naples hospitals.

Those differences matter for daily life: which hospital is nearby, how far family must drive, and whether the campus has memory care for a spouse who may need it.

What should a family compare before signing a continuing care contract?

Compare the contract type first. A life care contract keeps monthly fees largely level if care needs rise; a modified contract includes a set amount of discounted care; a fee-for-service contract charges market rates for care. Then compare refund plans, since a lower entrance fee usually buys a smaller refund, and ask when refunds are paid, because many are paid only after the unit is resold.

Ask for five years of monthly fee increases, current occupancy, the latest annual report filed with OIR and the audited financial statements. Florida gives every new resident a 7-day right to rescind after signing; use it to have an attorney read the contract.

How do entrance fees and monthly fees work together?

The entrance fee pays for the right to live in the community under the contract and, in life care contracts, partly prepays future care. Monthly fees cover operating costs and usually rise each year. Two communities with similar entrance fees can differ greatly in total cost over 15 years because of monthly fee increases and refund terms.

Ask each Lee County community for its fee increase history and build a simple spreadsheet of expected costs over the years you plan to live there.

What should a couple consider if only one spouse qualifies medically?

Many life plan communities require each person entering independent living to meet health criteria. If one spouse does not, ask whether the community will admit the couple with the second spouse moving directly into assisted living, what that spouse would pay, and how the contract treats the couple if needs change. Some couples decide to move while both can still enter independent living for exactly this reason.

Where do Lee County CCRC residents go for hospital care?

Shell Point and Cypress Cove residents are closest to HealthPark Medical Center and Lee Memorial's south Fort Myers services, Gulf Coast Village residents to Cape Coral Hospital, and Terraces residents to both Lee Health facilities and Naples hospitals to the south. Ask each community how it handles transport to appointments and whether its nursing unit accepts residents back after a hospital stay.

How do the care units' state records fit into the decision?

If you are entering independent living at 75, the assisted living and nursing units are where you may live at 88. Read their records now. Each licensed unit in our directory has its own page with AHCA's inspection history and, for nursing units, CMS staffing hours and turnover. Ask whether residents get priority for those beds and whether there is a wait today.