NEWS

Submitted by Caffrey & Associates 4:08 a.m. EST November 12, 2016

Plans have been finalized for Castle Harbour Homes’ Huckleberry model in Lake Timber at Babcock Ranch. Castle Harbour will be offering a minimum of four floor plans.(Photo: Submitted)

BABCOCK RANCH, Florida — Master developer Kitson & Partners announced that Fort Myers-based Castle Harbour Homes has joined the participating builders in the Lake Timber neighborhood at Babcock Ranch. The homebuilder is expected to begin construction of its first furnished model by the end of December.

Babcock Ranch is a new 18,000-acre eco-centric, solar powered town being developed by Kitson off State Road 31 in Charlotte County. Fox Premier Builders, Homes by Towne, Stock Development and Florida Lifestyle Homes have already started construction of furnished models in Lake Timber, the first neighborhood to be built at Babcock Ranch. Completed models are expected to be open for viewing in early 2017. Each home at Babcock Ranch is being built to Florida Green Building Coalition Certification standards.

Castle Harbour Homes was founded in 2009 by John Dennis Miehle.  A builder of homes in many of Southwest Florida’s premier communities, Castle Harbour’s performance history includes being named recipient of multiple Florida Home Builders Association Aurora Awards, multiple Collier Building Industry Association Sand Dollar Awards, multiple Lee Building Industry Association Pinnacle and Industry Awards, and multiple Cape Coral Construction Industry Association awards.

As planned, Castle Harbour will be offering a minimum of four Longleaf Collection floor plans at Babcock Ranch ranging from 2,300 to nearly 3,000 square feet under air. Variations that will allow an additional room or an enlarged kitchen are expected to be available for each plan. The Old Florida and Farmhouse style Smart Homes by Castle Harbour will be on 70-by-130-foot or 80-by-130-foot lakeside homesites base priced in the $500s and $700s.

Castle Harbour’s Longleaf Collection floor plans were designed specifically for Babcock Ranch and include covered front and rear porches that are the signature of Babcock Ranch and allow the home to live from front to back while encouraging interaction with neighbors. The residences will be built on the banks of Lake Timber and Lake Bullhorn, the two lakes that envelope the Lake Timber neighborhood. Four furnished models are planned, each of which will feature an interior design by Lori Manning Designs.

Plans have been finalized for Castle Harbour’s single-story Huckleberry model that is slated to begin construction by the end of the year on lot 20 at 42207 Lake Timber Drive. The floor plan offers 2,955 square feet under air and 4,637 total square feet. Visitors to the home will be greeted on a deep covered front porch. A double-door entry will open to a wide hallway that leads to a great room, island kitchen, and breakfast nook with lake views. The light-filled plan includes a formal dining room, a study overlooking the front porch, a master bedroom with a lake view and two walk-in closets, a master bath with a freestanding tub, a shower, his and her vanities, and a separate water closet, two guest bedrooms with full baths, a laundry room, and a two-car garage. The outdoor living area overlooking Lake Timber will feature an outdoor kitchen and dining area, a conversation area, a fireplace with a second conversation area, and a pool.

Three additional models by Castle Harbour are in development, including the Belvidere that will be built on lot 186 at 17205 Bullhorn Circle. Slated to be Castle Harbour’s second furnished model, the lakeside Farmhouse style residence is expected to include four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths and a three-car garage. Castle Harbour expects to finalize plans for the Belvidere by the end of this month and to begin construction in early first quarter, 2017.

The Babcock Ranch architectural style is derived from styles found in pre-World War II neighborhoods in Fort Myers, Naples and throughout Southwest Florida. Deep, open porches characteristic of these regional styles typically run the length of the front facade and sometimes wraparound one or both sides of the house, giving the homes their characteristic look. These regional design principles are applied to the town’s residential architectural styles – Craftsman, Farmhouse, Coastal Gulf Vernacular, Spanish, and Colonial/West Indies. Grouped around Babcock Ranch’s parks and streetscapes, the homes and their porches will be positioned tighter to the street and encourage social interaction and connectivity.

Situated on the banks of its namesake, the Lake Timber neighborhood epitomizes the Town and Country lifestyle Kitson has fashioned at Babcock Ranch. The neighborhood’s residential choices are offered at diverse price points and include Longleaf Collection residences on Lake Timber and Lake Bullhorn by Castle Harbour, Stock Development and Florida Lifestyle Homes; Homes by Towne’s Harvest Collection residences fronting internal lakes and parks; Fox Premier Builders’ Cottage Collection floor plans designed by architect Cooter Ramsey of Allison, Ramsey & Associates and by Timberbuilt that have been converted to accommodate a SIP Panel Construction process developed by New Panel Homes in Englewood, Florida; and town home and condominium residences.

The residences in Lake Timber will line streetscapes dotted with parks. Lakefront green spaces and pathways, trail head facilities, a dog park, a lakeside fishing dock, an observation deck, and Babcock Ranch’s first town garden will provide opportunities for connecting with nature. Lake Timber’s Lake House neighborhood center will include a lakefront pool, barbecue area and playground.

In keeping with the walkable, biking lifestyle Kitson has designed for Babcock Ranch, the Lake Timber neighborhood is a short walk or bike ride from the town’s Downtown District and Founder’s Square, a lakefront green space that will serve as a town-wide gathering place, the site of community events, concerts, and a place to simply relax and enjoy the lake views.

Phase I of the Downtown District is under construction. Woodlea Hall, Babcock Ranch’s first civic building and home to the town’s information center and Kitson & Partners’ development offices, is scheduled for completion in February.  An outfitters store that will provide hiking gear and apparel will be located adjacent to Woodlea Hall.

Construction of the Downtown District’s Table and Tap restaurant fronting Lake Babcock is also well underway and on schedule for completion in February. The restaurant will include 3,617 square feet of interior dining space under air with seating for 56 and 19 bar seating spaces, an outdoor lakefront dining area measuring 1,668 square feet with seating for 82, and a 1,280-square-foot beer garden with seating for 34.

Permitting for a destination in the Downtown District that will feature a coffee shop, grab and go items, and an ice cream shop, is in process. Construction of the 10,567-square-foot venue is expected to begin late 2016 or early 2017 with completion anticipated by third quarter 2017. The Babcock Neighborhood School will open in the fall of 2017 and a wellness center is scheduled for completion in spring of 2018.