Top Floor Plans at Essex at Avenir — What Buyers Are Choosing in 2026

Since opening for sales earlier this year, Essex at Avenir has quickly become one of the most talked-about townhome communities inside Avenir’s gates — and it’s easy to see why. With Florida Crystals bringing a fresh, low-maintenance product to a master plan best known for sprawling single-family estates, buyers are discovering that Essex offers something Avenir hasn’t fully delivered yet: a smart, lock-and-leave lifestyle without stepping outside the community’s amenity-rich footprint. As of September 2026, floor plan selection and early availability are shaping up quickly, and I’m hearing from buyers every week who want to know exactly which layouts are moving fastest.

I’m Jean Taveras, broker-owner of Atlis Realty, and I’ve spent the past several years walking model homes, tracking pricing shifts, and helping buyers navigate every builder inside Avenir — from Toll Brothers’ luxury enclaves to GL Homes’ Apex. Essex at Avenir is a different animal, and today I want to walk you through what’s actually resonating with buyers touring the community right now, what to expect price-wise, and how to position yourself if you’re serious about securing a homesite before this gated enclave of roughly 250 townhomes sells out.

Why Essex at Avenir Is Turning Heads in 2026

Essex represents Florida Crystals’ first townhome offering within the Avenir master plan, and the timing couldn’t be better. Avenir’s single-family inventory — from Panther National’s ultra-luxury estates to Regency’s active-adult single-family homes — has pushed the community’s median sale price to roughly $1,094,000 to $1,114,500 as of early 2026. Essex enters that landscape with townhomes reportedly starting in the upper $700,000s to low $800,000s, giving buyers a meaningfully lower entry point into one of Palm Beach Gardens’ most amenity-rich gated communities.

That price positioning matters. Plenty of buyers want the Avenir lifestyle — the future Town Center, the trails, the resort-style recreation — but don’t need (or want) the maintenance of a half-acre lot. Essex answers that demand directly, and it’s why we’re seeing strong early interest from downsizers, young professionals, and investors alike. For the full picture of how Essex fits into the broader master plan, our Avenir community guide breaks down every neighborhood side by side.

The Floor Plans Buyers Are Requesting Most

Florida Crystals has designed the Essex product line to feel more spacious than typical townhome offerings, and that’s the number one comment I hear on tours. While final floor plan names and exact square footages are still being finalized as sales ramp up, buyers touring the community are consistently gravitating toward three configurations:

• The three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath end unit — These are in highest demand because they offer extra windows, additional side yard space, and a more private feel. Buyers who want a townhome that lives like a single-family home are prioritizing end units above all else.
• The three-bedroom plus den layout — With more buyers working hybrid schedules, a flexible den or study has become a must-have rather than a nice-to-have. This configuration lets buyers carve out a home office without sacrificing a guest bedroom.
• The four-bedroom, multi-story plan — For families relocating to Palm Beach Gardens for the school zones and wanting more separation between living levels, the larger four-bedroom option is the clear favorite. It’s also the plan generating the most interest from investors eyeing long-term rental potential.

Across all these plans, buyers are asking for the same upgrades: quartz countertops, impact windows (standard in most Avenir builder specs given South Florida’s hurricane code), and outdoor living space — even if it’s a modest paver patio. Keep in mind that any model home you tour will include upgrades that raise the price above base, so it’s worth having a buyer’s agent help you separate “what’s included” from “what’s optional” before you fall in love with a fully upgraded model.

How Essex Compares to Other Avenir Communities

One of the most common questions I get on tours is simple: “How does Essex stack up against everything else in Avenir?” Here’s my honest take as someone who’s toured nearly every model in the master plan.

If you’re comparing Essex to Solana Bay by Akel Homes or Coral Isles by Kenco Communities, you’ll notice Essex leans more efficient and attached, while those communities lean toward larger, detached single-family footprints. If your budget tops out in the high $700s to low $800s and you still want to be inside Avenir’s gates, Essex is currently one of the few products that hits that number without pushing you outside the master plan entirely.

Compared to Apex by GL Homes — where five-bedroom plans like the Celestia are commanding premium pricing well north of $1M — Essex is clearly positioned as the value-conscious entry point into Avenir. And when stacked against Toll Brothers’ offerings at Windgate, Watermark, and Regency, Essex again wins on price per square foot, though obviously with a smaller footprint and shared walls. For buyers weighing all these options, our All Avenir Builders page is the fastest way to compare every community’s price point and product type in one place.

Location Advantages: Why Essex’s Position Inside Avenir Matters

Every Avenir community shares the same core location advantage, but where you land inside the 3,900-home master plan does affect your daily commute and lifestyle. Avenir sits just west of Florida’s Turnpike and a quick drive to I-95, putting Essex residents roughly 15-20 minutes from PGA Boulevard’s dining and shopping corridor — think Downtown at the Gardens, Legacy Place, and the ever-expanding restaurant scene along PGA Boulevard itself.

For beach lovers, Palm Beach Gardens’ coastline — including Juno Beach and the Lake Worth inlet — is roughly a 20-25 minute drive, making Essex a realistic option for buyers who want new construction without abandoning proximity to the water. And because Avenir’s own Town Center is under active development within the master plan, Essex residents are positioned to eventually walk or golf-cart to future retail, dining, and civic space without ever leaving the community.

I always tell buyers: location within Avenir is about more than distance to the gate. It’s about which amenities open first, which builders finish first, and how construction traffic will affect your daily life over the next 24 months. Essex’s phase is well-timed relative to Avenir’s amenity rollout, which is one more reason it’s climbing buyers’ shortlists in 2026.

What Investors Should Know About Essex at Avenir

I work with a fair number of investors through Atlis Realty and Atlis Property Management, and Essex is generating real interest in that space for a few specific reasons. First, the price point creates a lower barrier to entry compared to Avenir’s single-family product, which typically starts well above $900,000. Second, townhome inventory tends to attract a different renter and resale pool — professionals, small families, and relocation buyers who want new construction without the upkeep of a larger lot.

Third, and most importantly, Avenir’s overall trajectory continues to support long-term value. Even with median prices softening slightly year-over-year (down roughly 11% as reported in early 2026 data), the master plan’s build-out is still years from completion, meaning early buyers in newer phases like Essex are positioned ahead of significant future amenity investment — additional retail, the Town Center, and expanded recreational space. If you’re evaluating Essex purely as an investment, I’d encourage you to also review our Complete 2026 Avenir Guide, which tracks pricing trends across every builder in the community.

Touring Essex: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Because Essex opened for sales relatively recently, inventory and released homesites are moving in phases rather than all at once. That means the floor plan you fall in love with on a Tuesday tour may show a different release status by the following week. My advice to every buyer I work with: come to your tour pre-qualified, know your top two floor plan preferences going in, and be ready to discuss homesite orientation — end units and premium lots inside Essex are the first to go in nearly every new phase release across Avenir’s builders.

I also recommend touring Essex alongside at least one or two comparable communities — Avondale by Divosta or Solana Bay by Akel Homes are both useful benchmarks — so you can see firsthand how Essex’s finishes, floor plans, and pricing stack up. Reviewing the Avenir site plan beforehand also helps buyers visualize exactly where Essex sits relative to the future Town Center and other neighborhoods.