Bunnell’s city commission approved the Haw Creek Reserve development in August 2025, two months after voting it down, when Commissioner Tonya Young switched sides to break a 3-2 deadlock (FlaglerLive, Aug 2025). That single vote greenlit 6,100 new homes on roughly 3,500 acres of what’s still pine flatwoods and cow pasture west of I-95. If you own a Mondex lot or a parcel in Grand Reserve, the five-year math on your investment just changed.
And it changed again in April 2026, when a separate developer revealed a master plan for 22,000 additional homes in Palm Coast’s western expansion area (FlaglerLive, Apr 2026). Nobody else is analyzing these two approvals together. Combined, they represent roughly 28,000 new rooftops competing for the same roads, the same utility corridors, and the same stretch of SR-100 that already backs up at US-1.
Key Takeaways
- Bunnell approved 6,100 homes in Haw Creek Reserve after initially rejecting the project (FlaglerLive, Aug 2025)
- A separate 22,000-home western Palm Coast master plan compounds infrastructure pressure on the same corridors
- Flagler County property values fell for the first time in 14 years in 2026 (FlaglerLive, May 2026)
- Utility and road timelines likely stretch to 2030-2032 for parcels west of US-1
What did Bunnell actually approve in the Haw Creek Reserve development?
The Bunnell City Commission approved a Planned Unit Development (PUD) for 6,100 residential units across approximately 3,500 acres, including single-family homes, townhomes, and mixed-use commercial parcels (FlaglerLive, Aug 2025). The development sits west of I-95 along the Haw Creek corridor, south of SR-100.
The PUD includes phased construction over a projected 15-to-20-year buildout. Phase 1 targets around 1,500 units. The developer is responsible for internal roads, stormwater management, and connecting to Bunnell’s water and sewer systems, which currently serve a city of roughly 3,000 people.
That’s the part worth sitting with. Bunnell’s existing population is about 3,000. This single project could add 15,000 or more residents. The city’s wastewater treatment plant and water distribution system were sized for a small rural municipality, not a suburb.
When you layer the Haw Creek Reserve approval on top of the 22,000-home western Palm Coast expansion master plan revealed in April 2026, you’re looking at nearly 28,000 new housing units planned within a 10-mile radius of the US-1/SR-100 intersection. No other analysis in Flagler County connects these two entitlements, and the infrastructure implications are significant: both projects depend on expanding the same utility trunk lines and the same two-lane stretches of SR-100 and Old Kings Road.
How does the 22,000-home western Palm Coast expansion affect Haw Creek Reserve buyers?
The western Palm Coast master plan, revealed April 2026, proposes 22,000 homes on thousands of acres west of the current city limits (FlaglerLive, Apr 2026). This matters for Haw Creek Reserve buyers because both projects compete for road capacity on SR-100 and utility connections from the same regional systems.
SR-100 between US-1 and I-95 is the bottleneck. Right now it handles existing Grand Reserve traffic, Mondex residents, and through-traffic to Palatka. Add 28,000 homes over the next two decades and you need widening projects that FDOT hasn’t funded yet.
Palm Coast’s expansion plan also introduces competition for the same buyer pool. If you’re a builder in Haw Creek Reserve pricing townhomes at $275,000, you’ll be competing against new construction in the western Palm Coast expansion at similar price points. For investors who bought cheap Bunnell lots expecting scarcity-driven appreciation, this flood of entitled land works against that thesis.
“Most buyers looking at Bunnell land right now don’t realize they’re buying into a market that could see 28,000 competing rooftops within a decade,” says Charles Umpenhour. “The question is timing, and whether the roads and utilities arrive before or after your holding costs eat your margin.”
Working with land investors across Palm Coast and Bunnell over 20 years and 220 closings, the pattern repeats: approved entitlements spike speculation, but the actual value increase arrives with the utility stub-out, not the commission vote.
When will utilities and roads realistically reach these parcels?
Bunnell’s current wastewater capacity serves roughly 3,000 residents, and the city has acknowledged that plant upgrades will be needed before Haw Creek Reserve can build beyond its initial phase (FlaglerLive, Aug 2025). Based on typical Florida utility expansion timelines for projects of this scale, expect 5 to 7 years before trunk infrastructure reaches the later phases.
Here’s a realistic sequence:
Phase 1 (2026-2028)
Developer-funded internal roads and initial utility connections. The developer bears the cost of tying into Bunnell’s existing system, but the city’s capacity constrains how many connections are available. Expect 500 to 800 homes in this window if permitting stays on schedule.
Phase 2-3 (2028-2032)
Wastewater treatment plant expansion. Widening of SR-100 segments (contingent on FDOT prioritization, which is not currently scheduled). Extension of water mains west of I-95. This is where the timeline gets squishy. FDOT’s Work Program for Flagler County doesn’t include SR-100 widening in its current five-year plan.
Full buildout (2035-2045)
The developer’s own projections suggest a 15-to-20-year buildout. In Florida, large PUDs routinely take longer. Nocatee in St. Johns County broke ground in 2006 and still has phases under construction 20 years later.
For Mondex lot owners specifically: your parcels sit in unincorporated Flagler County, outside Bunnell’s utility service area. The Haw Creek Reserve development doesn’t extend water and sewer to the Mondex. You’ll still be on well and septic unless the county or a special taxing district funds extension, which has no timeline.
What does this mean for property values in western Flagler County?
Flagler County property values fell for the first time in 14 years in 2026, with Palm Coast and surrounding areas seeing assessed values decline after more than a decade of steady increases (FlaglerLive, May 2026). That’s the macro backdrop for the Haw Creek Reserve Bunnell development.
The 2025 median home price in Volusia-Flagler held relatively steady at around $340,000, with sales volume flat year over year (Daytona Beach News-Journal, Aug 2025). New construction in nearby communities like Evolve Palm Coast listed homes starting in the low $300,000s (Realtor.com, Oct 2025).
For raw land, the calculus is more complicated. Vacant lots in the Mondex (officially the Daytona North subdivision) have traded between $5,000 and $25,000 depending on size and road access. Grand Reserve lots closer to US-1 have moved in the $30,000 to $60,000 range. The Haw Creek Reserve approval creates two opposing forces:
Upward pressure: More rooftops bring commercial services, schools, and eventually transit improvements. Proximity to a master-planned community makes adjacent parcels look more buildable.
Downward pressure: 6,100 new home sites, plus 22,000 in western Palm Coast, create a massive supply overhang. Builders offering finished homes with warranties at $290,000 to $350,000 will pull demand away from owner-built Mondex parcels that still need wells, septic, and driveways.
In our property management portfolio of 300+ units across Palm Coast and Flagler County, rental demand for single-family homes west of I-95 runs 15 to 20% below comparable eastern Palm Coast properties. That gap tells you something about where infrastructure is today versus where the master plans say it will be.
Should investors and first-time buyers act now or wait?
For investors holding raw Bunnell land, the five-year hold thesis has weakened. With property values falling for the first time in 14 years and nearly 28,000 new home sites entitled within a short radius, the supply side of the equation has shifted dramatically.
First-time buyers have a different calculation. If Phase 1 of Haw Creek Reserve delivers homes in the $280,000 to $320,000 range (consistent with other Flagler County new construction like the 650-home Del Webb community announced in September 2025), that’s competitive pricing for the region. But you’ll be living through construction, traffic on SR-100 will be worse before it gets better, and schools in western Bunnell are limited. Bunnell Elementary currently serves the area; capacity expansion plans aren’t public.
Three specific things to watch:
- FDOT’s Work Program updates for SR-100 widening. Until this gets funded, commute times to Palm Coast, I-95, and the beaches will increase as homes fill in.
- Bunnell’s wastewater treatment plant expansion timeline. This is the hard constraint on Phase 1 density. Delays here push everything back.
- Builder contract terms in Phase 1. Early phases of large PUDs often include community development district (CDD) assessments that add $150 to $300 per month on top of your mortgage and HOA. Ask for the CDD disclosure before you fall in love with a floor plan.
Frequently asked questions
How many homes will Haw Creek Reserve add to Bunnell?
The approved PUD allows up to 6,100 residential units across approximately 3,500 acres west of I-95 (FlaglerLive, Aug 2025). That’s roughly five times Bunnell’s current population. Buildout is projected over 15 to 20 years, with Phase 1 targeting around 1,500 homes. Actual delivery depends on utility capacity upgrades and market absorption rates.
Will Mondex lots get city water and sewer from Haw Creek Reserve?
The Mondex (Daytona North) sits in unincorporated Flagler County, outside Bunnell’s utility service boundary. Haw Creek Reserve’s developer is building infrastructure for its own PUD, and there’s no current plan or timeline to extend municipal water and sewer to Mondex parcels. Residents will remain on well and septic until a separate county initiative or special district is created.
What’s the difference between Haw Creek Reserve and the western Palm Coast expansion?
Haw Creek Reserve is a single 6,100-home PUD approved by Bunnell. The western Palm Coast expansion is a separate 22,000-home master plan under Palm Coast’s jurisdiction, revealed in April 2026 (FlaglerLive, Apr 2026). Both projects target land west of I-95, share SR-100 as a primary corridor, and will compete for the same infrastructure funding and buyer demand.
Are property values going up or down in Bunnell?
Flagler County property values declined in 2026 for the first time in 14 years (FlaglerLive, May 2026). Raw land values in western Bunnell depend heavily on utility access and road improvements. Approved entitlements can boost long-term values, but the 28,000-unit supply pipeline creates downward price pressure on speculative lots.
What to do with this information
If you’re sitting on a Mondex lot you bought for $8,000 in 2019, the Haw Creek Reserve approval didn’t automatically make it worth $25,000. It made the future more complicated. More homes are coming, but the utilities to your parcel aren’t.
If you’re a first-time buyer excited about new construction pricing in Bunnell, ask hard questions about CDD assessments, SR-100 commute times, and school assignments before you sign.
And if you’re an investor eyeing Grand Reserve or Haw Creek frontage parcels, model your returns with a 7-to-10-year hold, not a flip. The infrastructure timeline is the thesis, and right now it’s measured in years, not months. The entitlements are real. The roads and pipes aren’t, yet.