Live in Hancock
About 12,000 people in 2020 on the Northeast Cape's grid between Hancock Bridge Parkway and Diplomat Parkway, on fresh water only, with four supermarkets and three bus routes inside, almost nothing in FEMA's flood zone, and 795 parcels in Unit 47 still on wells and septic tanks while the City lays the pipes it has already assessed them for.
Hancock is this site's name for a set of the City of Cape Coral's original Gulf American Corporation plat units, Units 17, 31, 46 and 47 and seven small plats, 3,038 acres north of Hancock Bridge Parkway on both sides of Pine Island Road and Del Prado Boulevard; no public body draws a neighborhood of that name, and the trade's Hancock lines do not agree with this one. The 2020 census counted 12,033 residents in 5,040 homes, and the city has grown about 22% since. Every one of its 1,364 waterfront lots is on a freshwater canal, with no route to the Gulf, and only 9 of its 6,640 parcels are in FEMA's 1% annual chance flood zone, but 795 parcels in the North 1 East extension area have no City water yet: the City set their assessment in November 2025, $32,288 on a standard lot paid up front, and expects to finish the lines by the end of 2027. Zillow's typical value for ZIP code 33909, $293,459 in August 2026 and the lowest of Cape Coral's six ZIPs, covers nearly three times as many people and is not a Hancock price.
The Northeast Cape's shopping crossroads, on fresh water, with one corner still waiting for its pipes
No public body draws or names Cape Coral's neighborhoods; Hancock is a name real estate pages use, and this guide's line is the City's own: the Department of Community Development's GAC Unit layer, the plat the Gulf American Corporation recorded, taking whole Units 17, 31, 46 and 47 with the small plats PAT, 0444, 824A, 824B, 0844 and DP, unioned to about 3,038 acres and clipped to the City Boundary layer, which cut off no resident. The name follows Hancock Bridge Parkway, its southern edge, and Hancock Park, Lee County's park inside, now Kurt Donaldson Park. Traced against the City's Major Streets layer: Hancock Bridge Parkway on the south, from Pine Island Road east to the City line, with NE Van Loon Lane carrying the line for a stretch west of Cultural Park Boulevard; NE Pine Island Road on the south-west, from Hancock Bridge Parkway north-east to Andalusia Boulevard; the backs of the lots on the west side of Andalusia Boulevard on the west; Diplomat Parkway East on the north; and on the east the City line with unincorporated North Fort Myers, near NE 24th Avenue and Hancock Creek Boulevard. Diplomat is across Pine Island Road and Diplomat Parkway, Cultural Park across Hancock Bridge Parkway west of Del Prado Boulevard and Four Mile Cove east of it. Pine Island Road, Del Prado Boulevard, Pondella Road and Andalusia Boulevard run through it. The Hancock Creek and Tropic Isles elementary schools that listings attach to the name are in North Fort Myers, outside the city. The residents are split among City Council Districts 3, 5 and 7, all in the Lee County School District, and 11,895 of them in ZIP code 33909.
Hancock is this site's name for a set of the City's own plat units. No public body draws or names Cape Coral's neighborhoods, and the real estate pages that use Hancock do not agree on its line. This guide takes the Gulf American Corporation's Units 17, 31, 46 and 47 and seven small plats, 3,038 acres from Hancock Bridge Parkway north to Diplomat Parkway, across Pine Island Road and Del Prado Boulevard, with North Fort Myers beyond the City line to the east. The 2020 census counted 12,033 residents in 5,040 homes; the city has grown about 22% since, and 1,565 of the 6,640 parcels are still vacant.
This is where the Northeast Cape shops. Where Pine Island Road crosses Del Prado Boulevard, OpenStreetMap puts four supermarkets inside the line, a Publix and an ALDI among them, with a Sprouts and a Target nearby on the same road. Three LeeTran routes stop at 35 places inside, and Routes 40 and 595 stop 100 m from the reference point, but none is frequent and Route 40 has no Sunday service. Cape Coral Hospital is about 3 km south down Del Prado.
The water is fresh, and the flood map is light. The City's parcel layer puts 1,364 lots on freshwater canals and none on salt water or the river: these canals do not reach the Gulf. FEMA's 2022 maps put only 9 of the 6,640 parcels in the 1% annual chance flood zone, and the reference point is zone X. That is not no risk: Lee County still puts 342 residents in evacuation Zone A and 3,700 in Zone B, the City says a quarter of flooding happens outside the mapped zone, and a flood policy, sold in zone X too, waits 30 days to start.
The deciding question is the pipes. City water reaches 5,751 parcels here. The other 795 are all in the North 1 East extension area, mostly in Unit 47, and are still on private wells and septic tanks. The City approved their assessment in November 2025: $32,288 on a standard 10,000-square-foot lot paid up front, or $33,142 financed at 6.25%, as installments of up to $3,385 a year on the tax bill over 30 years. Contractors started in December 2025 and the City expects to finish by the end of 2027; plumbing the house in and abandoning the septic tank cost extra. Older areas' installments can still be on a lot's bill.
No price index follows the line. Zillow's typical value for ZIP code 33909 was $293,459 in August 2026, down 4.6% and the lowest of Cape Coral's six ZIPs, but it covers Diplomat and Gator Circle too. Every City address pays the same thirteen levies, 15.3806 mills for 2025: a homesteaded buyer at the ZIP figure owes about $3,878 a year on the base exemption amounts, a landlord about $4,514. The City's fire service, stormwater and solid waste assessments add about $1,063 on its average house for 2026-27, and no exemption reduces them or a utility installment. Save Our Homes resets at a sale; the arithmetic is on the Cape Coral page.
- Ask whether the lot is in North 1 East, and whether its assessment was prepaid or sits on the tax bill as an installment
- On a lot not yet connected, price the plumbing and the septic abandonment, which the assessment does not cover
- Run the address through the City's flood risk tool and quote a flood policy anyway: it waits 30 days
- Estimate the tax at your price, then add the fire service, stormwater and solid waste lines and any utility installment
How Hancock got here
- 1957Leonard and Jack Rosen of Baltimore buy a 103-square-mile tract at Redfish Point across the Caloosahatchee; their Gulf American Land Corporation begins building in 1958 and plats the city in numbered units.
- 1970Cape Coral incorporates as a city on 18 August.
- 1977Lee County breaks ground on Hancock Park, now Kurt Donaldson Park, in late 1976 or early 1977, in the County's account.
- 2012The City Council approves water, sewer and irrigation extension to three areas, Southwest 6 and 7, North 2 and North 1.
- 2014Hancock Park is renamed Kurt Donaldson Park on 17 May, for a Lee County youth baseball and football coach of more than 40 years.
- 2020The census counts 12,033 residents and 5,040 housing units inside the line.
- 2021On 13 October the Council splits the North 1 extension area at Del Prado Boulevard into North 1 West and North 1 East.
- 2022Hurricane Ian comes ashore on Cayo Costa, west of the city, on 28 September. FEMA's new Lee County flood maps take effect on 17 November.
- 2025The Council approves North 1 East's final assessment resolutions on 19 November, and contractors receive notice to proceed in December; North 1 West, west of Del Prado, reaches substantial completion.
- 2026Lee County closes Kurt Donaldson Park's playground from 17 August for replacement. On 26 August the Council sets the 2026-27 fire service, stormwater and solid waste assessments.
- 2027The City expects North 1 East's water, sewer and irrigation lines to be finished by the end of the year.
The County's old Hancock Park and three City parks, all inside the line
Kurt Donaldson Park, Lee County's 17 acres on Hancock Bridge Parkway, was Hancock Park when the County broke ground on it in 1976 or 1977: baseball fields, basketball and tennis courts, a pavilion and a playground the County began replacing in August 2026. The City's Burton Memorial Park, an athletic park, is the nearest to the reference point, with Del Prado Linear Park and Giuffrida Park also inside. The photographs are not of Hancock.
What the map does not show: the City's parks layer lists the County's park as a private one named Hancock Community Park, and the facilities at the City's three parks were not read for this guide.
Elsewhere in Cape Coral, not Hancock
25 places, with real drive times
Road-adjusted distance and drive time from the centre of the community to each destination, nearest first. Filter by category.
Showing 1–12 of 25 places, nearest first.
Method: straight lines from the population-weighted center of Hancock's census blocks, by Del Prado Boulevard, times a road factor of 1.32, with a tiered speed model: honest ranges, not routed times.
Every gym within reach
The free courts are at Kurt Donaldson Park, inside the line. No year-round public pool is open in Cape Coral; the nearest is the County's, just across the City line.
- North Fort Myers Community Pool: year-round and heated, $3 for an adult
- Lake Kennedy Center: the City's nearest recreation center
- Sun Splash: the City's water park, seasonal
| Facility | What it is | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Kurt Donaldson Park open | Lee County's park inside the line, with baseball fields and basketball and tennis courts, free and open dawn to dusk. | 5–8 min |
| North Fort Myers Community Pool open | The nearest public pool, Lee County's, just across the City line at 5170 Orange Grove Boulevard: year-round, heated in winter, with lap lanes; $3 for an adult, $2 for seniors and children. | 6–9 min |
| Lake Kennedy Center open | The City's recreation center at 400 Santa Barbara Boulevard, the nearest on its Parks layer; programs and fees were not read. | 8–12 min |
| Sun Splash Family Waterpark open | The City's water park, seasonal, and the only public pool open inside the city; no year-round public pool is. | 9–14 min |
| Burton Memorial Park open | The City's athletic park inside the line at 1502 NE 3rd Terrace; its fields and hours were not read. | 3–5 min |
The free option is Kurt Donaldson Park's basketball and tennis courts, open dawn to dusk.
Diplomat and Caloosa by lottery, with the nearest high school across the City line
Every address is in The School District of Lee County, which assigns no school by address. The district's locator puts the reference point in elementary Zone B, whose schools are Caloosa, Diplomat, Hancock Creek, Littleton and Tropic Isles; middle Zone CC, Diplomat, Caloosa, North Fort Myers Academy and Bayshore; and high school West subzone 2. A lottery places children. Diplomat Elementary, graded A for three years, is 2.4 km north, and North Fort Myers High, graded A, is in North Fort Myers.
| School | Board | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Diplomat Elementary School | The School District of Lee County | 1115 NE 16th Terrace, about 2.4 km north of the reference point. Lee County assigns no school by address: the district's SchoolSite Locator puts the point in elementary Proximity Zone B, whose schools are Caloosa, Diplomat, Hancock Creek, Littleton and Tropic Isles, and families rank them for a lottery that favors siblings, then a school within 2 miles, then the nearest. Diplomat is graded A for 2026, 2025 and 2024; Caloosa B for all three; Tropic Isles B, C, C; Hancock Creek A, C, C; Littleton B for all three. Hancock Creek, Tropic Isles and Littleton are in North Fort Myers, outside the city. |
| Diplomat Middle School | The School District of Lee County | 1039 NE 16th Terrace, about 2.4 km north. The point is in middle Proximity Zone CC, whose schools are Diplomat Middle, Caloosa Middle, North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts and the Bayshore School, ranked for the same lottery. Diplomat Middle is graded B for all three years and Caloosa Middle B, C, B. The district told Cape Coral families in January 2026 that the line between middle Zones AA and CC had moved, so confirm the zone for the exact address. |
| North Fort Myers High School | The School District of Lee County | 5000 Orange Grove Boulevard, about 2.7 km east across the City line. The point is in high school West subzone 2, whose schools are Cape Coral, Ida S. Baker, Island Coast, Mariner and North Fort Myers highs. North Fort Myers High is graded A for 2026 and 2025, B for 2024, and offers Cambridge and arts programs; Cape Coral High, with the International Baccalaureate, B for all three; Island Coast, with the FGCU Collegiate program, C for all three. The grades are the state's as CBS12 republished them, because fldoe.org refused requests. |
Run your own address in the district's SchoolSite Locator: the district warned Cape Coral families in January 2026 that the middle-school line between Zones AA and CC had moved, and a school within 2 miles gets no district bus. The grades are the state's, as CBS12 republished them.
Month by month, what living here looks like
Not a highlights reel: the actual annual rhythm, including the dates residents have to remember.
- Highs near 24 °C and lows near 12 °C on NOAA's 1991-2020 normals for Page Field in Fort Myers, about 12 km south-east across the river; NOAA flags its temperature normals representative rather than standard
- The Rotary Club's 42nd Cape Coral Art Festival fills Cape Coral Parkway downtown on 9 and 10 January 2027
- About 62 mm of rain, in the dry season
- About 45 mm of rain, the least of the year, with highs near 26 °C
- Bought last year? File the homestead exemption with the Lee County Property Appraiser by 1 March
- 1 March is the deadline for the homestead exemption and for portability of a Save Our Homes benefit
- Highs near 27 °C and about 53 mm of rain
- Highs near 30 °C and about 62 mm of rain, the last dry month
- On a canal lot, a month to have the seawall inspected: 669 lots here have one
- About 16 days reach 32 °C, and rain rises to about 88 mm as the wet season begins
- A new flood policy waits 30 days to take effect, and a policy is available in zone X too
- The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November
- Know your zone: Lee County puts 342 residents here in Zone A, 3,700 in B, 5,456 in C and 2,535 in D
- About 245 mm of rain, most of it in afternoon thunderstorms
- Highs near 33 °C and lows near 24 °C, with about 25 days reaching 32 °C
- Red, White & BOOM, the City's fireworks at the foot of the Cape Coral Bridge, is on Sunday 4 July 2027
- About 238 mm of rain
- The property appraiser mails the TRIM notice of proposed taxes in August, and a petition to the Value Adjustment Board is due within 25 days of the mailing
- The wettest month on the normals, about 265 mm
- The Atlantic season peaks around 10 September
- Ian came ashore on Cayo Costa, west of the city, on 28 September 2022
- About 229 mm of rain
- The City's fiscal year starts on 1 October with the 2026-27 assessments: fire service $341.63 a parcel plus $3.16 for each $5,000 of structure value, stormwater $163 and solid waste $384.25 a home
- The City's Trunk or Treat is on the City Hall lawn, about 4 km south-west, on 23 October 2026
- Rain falls to about 78 mm
- The tax collector mails the bills in November, 4% off if paid that month; in North 1 East the utility assessment comes on the same bill unless it was paid up front
- Holiday Nights on the Lawn at City Hall on 27 and 28 November 2026
- Hurricane season ends on 30 November; about 45 mm of rain
- Highs near 25 °C and lows near 14 °C, with about 48 mm of rain
- If you closed this year, the bill in hand is the seller's: Save Our Homes ends with a sale
1 more photograph of Cape Coral and the region
Drawn from the site's shared, freely licensed Cape Coral photo library, not photographs of Hancock itself. Filter by category.
Showing 1–1 of 1 photographs.
About these photographs. Openly licensed images from the site's shared Cape Coral library, found on Wikimedia Commons and served from there with full attribution. None of them is presented as a photograph of Hancock.