NEWS

 Submitted by: Chad Gillis – NEWS-PRESS.COM February 5, 2016

The town will consists of 19,500 homes, 6 million square feet of commercial space and public amenities, like hiking trails and restaurants

Rendering of Downtown Babcock Ranch development(Photo: Submitted photo)

Charlotte County will soon be home to a town that is being billed as the most environmentally sensitive development ever.

Syd Kitson, CEO of developer Kitson & Partners, held a press conference Friday on what will eventually be the town of Babcock Ranch.

“When you look at those power lines, that’s solar energy,” he told a group of reporters while standing near the edge of 500-acre mining lake. “When you turn a light on in the day, you’ll know that was powered by the sun, and that just hasn’t been done anywhere.”

The town will consist of 19,500 homes, 6-million square feet of commercial space and public amenities, like hiking trails and restaurants, on about 18,000 acres just north of the Lee County line along Highway 31.

Home construction will start later this year, and the development will likely be finished in 20 years.