NEWS
NEWS
June 12, 2020
Babcock’s core initiatives continue to guide town’s growth
By: Vicki Parsons - IT
BY EVAN WILLIAMS
Babcock Ranch Telegraph Correspondent
The town of Babcock Ranch is on track to reach a total population of some 50,000 people. RICHARD KINLEY / COURTESY PHOTO
With its balmy winters and year-round outdoor opportunities, Southwest Florida is a popular draw for countless Americans looking for a new place to call home.
Babcock Ranch is unique among its surrounding cities, such as Punta Gorda and Fort Myers, because of its dedication to the environment and other key factors that were built in to Babcock in every aspect of its creation, in its utilities and streets, parks, schools and homes alike.
After welcoming its first residents in January 2018, Babcock Ranch is now home to more than 500 families and on track to reach a total population of some 50,000 people in less than a few decades.
As a town built from scratch, its growth is guided by eight core initiatives by which Kitson & Partners and its president and CEO Syd Kitson seek to lead: the environment, health and wellness, education, energy, technology, transportation, storm safety, and fun.
Here’s a look at how each principle has been integrated in to the town.
Syd Kitson, Kitson & Partners president and CEO, at the 75-megawatt FPL Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center that was completed in 2016. VANDY MAJOR / BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH
The environment
The environment is the one from which the others flow. The 73,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preserve sold to Florida in perpetuity sits next to the town itself, whose 18,000 acres retained by Kitson are being built out with half of its footprint dedicated to green spaces, lakes and trails interwoven with neighborhoods. Planners designed the town around natural flow ways and sought to build on areas that had already been impacted by mining and agriculture, leaving more pristine natural areas intact.
Babcock’s other arguably most famous factor is FPL’s vast solar arrays designed to generate more energy than the town uses up. That and other features, from community gardens to the use of reclaimed and recycled water for irrigation, are aimed at making it “the most sustainable new town that has ever been developed,” Mr. Kitson says. “Everything we do here we think about the environment and how to treat it in a respectful way. And we’re very proud of that.”
The 75-megawatt FPL Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center. VANDY MAJOR / BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH
Health and wellness
Babcock Ranch has a holistic approach to health, taking in to account the land as well as personal social, educational, spiritual and nutritional fitness that run through all eight initiatives. The centerpiece of this initiative is Lee Health and the Healthy Life Center, a facility with family doctors and medical offices as well as a full gym and fitness complex that offers numerous courses and programs for residents to get on a path to healthy living.
Education was built into the town’s conception as a home for young professionals, families and retirees alike.
“We want to be multi-generational,” Mr. Kitson says. “And you can’t be multi-generational without great schools.”
Babcock Neighborhood School offers students in grades K-8 a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math) curriculum that is place-based, with children learning lessons from the landscape, be it via a short stroll to the preserve and community gardens or a field trip to the nearby solar array.
Fun is one of the fundamental core initiatives of importance at Babcock Ranch, which offers activities including fishing, biking and kayaking. BABCOCK RANCH TELEGRAPH PHOTOS
The town also has a pre-school, Bloom Academy. And by next year, ninth-grade high school students will be a part of the mix as well.
Community Development
Master-Planned Communities
COMMERCIAL CENTERS
Copyright © 2003 - 2024 Kitson & Partners. All Rights Reserved.