After a long delay, Babcock Ranch is becoming a reality — with big implications for Southwest Florida’s smallest coastal county.
It took a lot of planning, patience, money and vision to get to where Babcock Ranch is now.
It also took a lot of faith on the part of developer Syd Kitson, of Kitson & Partners.
But after a decade-long delay caused by the Great Recession and the housing bust, buildings are coming out of the ground at the 18,000-acre master-planned community in southeastern Charlotte County.
Eighteen model homes are under construction in Lake Timber, the first section, as are the buildings in Founders Square, the downtown center and the first of multiple village centers planned for Babcock Ranch.
“So far, so good,” Kitson said. “It is a very complicated process but you can see the buildings going up.”
Kitson & Partners bought the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch in 2006 and then sold 78,000 acres for preservation to the state in a $350 million deal.
