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FAQs: Buying a Home, Sustainability, Storm Safety, and Life at Babcock Ranch

From available homes to storm safety, we’re answering your most asked questions about life in Babcock Ranch.

Homes, Builders and Community Fees

How do I start the homebuying process? How many available homes do you have?

One way to start your homebuying process is by visiting our Discovery Center, where our Town Ambassadors will answer your questions and help navigate the community.

When buying a home at Babcock Ranch, you work directly with your builder of choice. Each builder will have their own homebuying process, waitlist, and timeline for releasing new inventory. All homes sold by our builders include the homesite. However, depending on the homesite location and view, there may be homesite premiums.

Currently we have a variety of single-family homes, condos, villas, and attached homes available. Homes start in the high $200s. You can view all available homes, explore our neighborhoods, and browse our builders on our website.

What’s the total cost of ownership, including HOA fees? What is included with HOA fees?

Master HOA Fees are collected by Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District (BRCISD) and the Babcock Ranch Residential Association (BRRA).

The (BRCISD) provides the ability for bonds to pay for the infrastructure for roads and other common area developments. The BRCISD debt service and operations and maintenance fees (O&M) appear on the individual ad valorum tax bill for each property. The debt service fee varies based on the size and location of the homesite. 

The recurring master HOA fees are billed quarterly by the BRRA.

Services provided by the master HOA include:

  • Professional On-Site Community Management
  • Lifestyle Event Programming
  • Community Patrol Service
  • 1 Gig Internet Service
  • Lake Timber Lodge and Pool
  • Cypress Lodge and Pool
  • Community Landscaping

In addition to the BRRA fees, individual neighborhoods may incur additional assessments for neighborhood HOAs and service areas.

For BRCISD and BRRA residential assessments and fees by neighborhood, please refer to the BRRA website for the current fee schedule.

Solar

Solar power and utilities: how does it all work?

Homes in Babcock Ranch pay Florida Power & Light’s current per kw/hour like any other home that has FPL service. Homeowners pay a typical electric bill, and total utilities will depend on usage. However, all homes are built to Florida Green Building Coalition certification standards, which helps reduce energy consumption.

Babcock Ranch has utility-scale solar, with 150MW of solar power generated by the Florida Power & Light solar facilities located on the northern edge of town. Power generated by 680,000 solar panels flows to the FPL substation at Babcock Ranch, and then all power transmission is underground. The solar fields generate more power than the town will consume at buildout (eventually 19,500 homes – projected population of 50,000 – in addition to 6 million sq.ft. of commercial space.)

When it is extremely cloudy, we pull power from the grid. We also have 10 MW of battery storage capacity in the solar array, further decreasing the amount of energy needed from the grid and helping ensure the town contributes more total energy to the grid than it pulls back.

You can read more about our Solar core initiative at Babcock Ranch here.

Storm Safety & Resiliency

What are elements of home construction and community design that promote Storm Safety?

Storm safety and resiliency has been factored into every element of design and engineering of the town. Babcock Ranch planners have embraced the latest technologies and incorporated best practices to minimize risk and allow for quick recovery after storms pass.  

Construction

All homes in Babcock Ranch are built to Florida building codes which were standardized in 2002 after Hurricane Andrew. This statewide code mandated that new construction be able to withstand hurricane-force winds and feature shutters or impact-resistant glass in all openings. In addition to requiring all structures to be rated to withstand winds of up to 145 miles per hour, all homes at Babcock Ranch must receive a Bronze Standard of Certification or higher from the Florida Green Building Coalition.

Babcock Ranch’s 40,600-square-foot field house also serves as an emergency shelter for the surrounding area. The facility is built to ICC 500 standards for storm shelters and can accommodate up to 1,343 people.

Utilities

All utilities are secured underground, which prevents loss of power and keeps the town equipped for a rapid rebound. We also have our own water & wastewater plants, with all water coming from wells on the property tapping the deep aquifer. 100% of all water for irrigation throughout town comes from reclaimed water from the wastewater plant.  We have strict landscaping requirements – limits on sod, requirements for 75% native plants – further reducing water use.  

Flood Mitigation

Native plants are best suited to withstand the Southwest Florida storm (and fire) cycles, and provide natural mitigation of storm runoff and flooding. They also improve surface water quality, require less maintenance and irrigation and help conserve energy by providing natural shade and cooling.

Did you have any damage from the hurricane? And why didn’t Babcock Ranch lose power or experience any flooding?

We were incredibly fortunate to have incurred minimal damage thanks to our storm safety efforts. We didn’t lose power thanks to having our power lines buried underground and our on-site FPL substation. Water quality was also unaffected due to maintaining our own water & wastewater facilities that are also powered by our FPL substation. Our solar field also managed to escape without damage.

Minor damage included pool enclosures on some homes, downed fences and signage, and a few homes lost some roof shingles.

General Town Information

How far are you from the beach?

Babcock Ranch is 35 – 45 miles from area beaches.

Do you have your own emergency services?

Currently, Lee Health in Founder’s Square houses medical offices for Lee Physicians Group. Charlotte County EMS and Sheriff also have temporary facilities on site. In the future, Babcock Ranch will have its own Fire, EMS, and Sheriff sub-stations, urgent care, and other medical facilities.

Check out our Community Guide to learn more about what’s currently at Babcock Ranch and everything that’s still to come.