NEWS

Development work at Babcock Ranch near Fort Myers.

The developer of the massive Babcock Ranch development in Lee County says the solar plant is under construction, roads are being built and the first residents should move in next year.

Babcock Ranch is slated for 19,500 houses. Florida Power & Light is building a solar plant that will power the homes during the day, creating what developer Syd Kitson calls “the first solar town in the country.”

Kitson, who heads Kitson & Partners of Palm Beach Gardens, said he’d like build houses closer to home, but he lamented the lack of developable dirt here.

“It’s just so difficult to find well-located land in the Palm Beach County market,” Kitson said.