NEWS

Submitted by Caffrey & Associates 4:03 a.m. ET March 4, 2017

Base priced at $414,000, the Sungold model is the first of four furnished models being built in Lake Timber by Homes by Towne.(Photo: Submitted)

BABCOCK RANCH — Master Developer Kitson & Partners announced that furnished model residences by Homes by Towne and Stock Development will be showcased in the Lake Timber neighborhood at Babcock Ranch during the Charlotte-DeSoto BIA’s Scattered Site Parade of Homes March 4 through March 12.

The new 18,000-acre eco-centric, solar powered town is being developed by Kitson, east of Fort Myers off State Road 31 in Charlotte County, just north of the Lee Civic Center. The residences at Babcock Ranch are being built to Florida Green Building Coalition Certification standards. The new town’s first neighborhood, Lake Timber’s lakefront green spaces, trail head facilities, lakeside fishing dock, observation deck, and Babcock Ranch’s first town garden will provide opportunities for connecting with nature. The Lake House neighborhood center will include a lakefront pool, barbecue area and playground. Lake Timber is a short walk or bike ride from Founder’s Square, the heart of Babcock’s Downtown District.
Homes by Towne’s Harvest Collection at Lake Timber includes eight open concept floor plans for residences ranging from 1,956 to 2,660 square feet on home sites measuring 50 feet or 60 feet by 130 feet. Floor plans are base priced in the mid-$300s.

The Harvest Collection homes, designed by KM Development Corp., will showcase Babcock’s timeless architectural styles. Craftsman, Farmhouse, Coastal Gulf Vernacular, Spanish, and Colonial/West Indies styles, each sourced in the pre-World War II Southwest Florida styles, will include deep front porches positioned close to the sidewalks and streets to encourage conversations with passersby. Rooms at the front of each of the Harvest Collection floor plans, whether a den or a bedroom, will have doors opening to the front porch, allowing residents to readily enjoy the outdoors at both the front and the rear of the home.

The Sungold model, being presented during the Parade of Homes, is the first of four furnished models being built by Homes by Towne. The remaining three models are slated for completion by mid-March. The models reflect the livability and flexibility that have been incorporated in each of the Harvest Collection floor plans. The interiors for each model has been designed by John Fleming, owner of the Model Home Group of Sarasota.

Base priced at $414,000, the West Indies style Sungold model offers 2,545 square feet with a great room and dining area, large kitchen island, and a breakfast area that offer three distinct places to dine. The plan includes three bedrooms, a den, two baths, a three-car garage, and a huge deck with a pool and spa. The model will include an optional pool bath. Dark-toned wood flooring, soft white backgrounds, a metal roof accent, Bahama shutters, and the home’s front porch all contribute to its relaxed West Indies vibe.

Stock Development is featuring its Sebring and Destin furnished models during the Parade of Homes. Two additional Stock models are on schedule to open in early March and another is slated for completion this summer. Situated on 70- and 80-foot lakefront home sites, Stock’s all new floor plans were designed by Looney Ricks Kiss Architects, the firm that established Babcock Ranch’s architectural styles. Featured in Babcock Ranch’s Longleaf Collection of residences, each plan includes a covered front porch that allows the home to live from front to back while encouraging interaction with neighbors.

Norris Furniture and Interiors’ Licensed Interior Designer Deborah Chase-Schulte has combined a mix of old and new elements to create an inviting, relaxed interior for the Sebring model. Warm beige-gray backgrounds throughout the home are accented with colors that celebrate the outdoors, including citron green, sky blue and sunset red. Flooring in the common areas is wood-look plank porcelain tile.

Black and white photographs taken on the Babcock Ranch property, natural wood furnishings, board and batten wall details, unique elements such as an old Florida style sliding barn door connecting the dining room and kitchen, drop-down and beamed ceiling details, and doors that open the dining room to a covered front porch with rocking chairs contribute to the home’s sense of connection with the outdoors. The outdoor living area includes a rectangular pool and pavered deck that draws the eye to lake views. Base priced at $469,990, the Sebring’s 2,676-square-foot great room plan includes a formal dining room, island kitchen, three bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, and a two-car garage.

Stock’s Destin model presents an organic contemporary style interior that combines clean lines with a mixture of materials, including concrete, wood, glass, and high-gloss finishes on some of the furnishings. Created by Soco Interiors’ Senior Designer Meredith Summersgill, the design features a color palette with grays, taupes and whites accented with pops of orange. The flooring in the living areas is 9-by-36-inch wood-look plank tile. Designed to look like Geisha wood, the gray-toned flooring conveys a clean, sophisticated feeling.

Summersgill has incorporated interesting wall and ceiling details, various fabrics, and furnishings with a variety of finishes ranging from the great room’s distressed concrete top side tables with a parson style stainless steel bases to a petrified wood accent table in the study. The great room, island kitchen, and dining space is the heart of the Destin’s 3,191-square-foot floor plan that also includes four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, a study, three-car garage, and an outdoor living area with a pool and spa overlooking the lake. The Destin is base priced at $569,990.

Kitson & Partners is inviting the public to enjoy the progress being made at Babcock Ranch during a two-day Founder’s Festival event on Saturday, March 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, March 12 from noon to 6 p.m. The Founder’s Festival will celebrate the completion of Founder’s Square’s event lawn, band shell and boardwalk, the first buildings in Babcock’s Downtown District, including Woodlea Hall, Curry Creek Outfitters, and the Table & Tap restaurant, as well as a fishing pier, dog park, the first four miles of the new town’s trail network, and a number of new model homes.

The celebration will feature two days of music, food trucks, a farmer’s market, model home tours, kids’ games, family activities, and more. Before the dedication of Founder’s Square at 10:30 on Saturday, March 11, Babcock Ranch will host the 2017 Sun Run that will include a 10-K timed chip race starting at 7:30, a 5-K timed chip race starting at 8, and a one-mile Fun Run at 9. Online registration for the 10-K and 5-K at www.foundersfest.net ends on March 8 and includes a $5 race fee and a $2 sign-up fee. The fee for registration on the day of the event is $20. The free one-mile Fun Run is open to runners and walkers of all ages and strollers are allowed. Dana Miller of Cypress Lake High School’s Performing Arts group will perform the national anthem prior to the start of the 10-K.  Awards will be presented at 9:30 at Founder’s Square.

To learn more about living at the eco-centric, solar powered town being created by Kitson & Partners at Babcock Ranch, visit babcockranch.com.