Builder gains entry to coveted community

Babcock Ranch — Miami-based Lennar, the second largest homebuilder in the country, has joined the roster of builders at Babcock Ranch.

The builder will handle a mix of twin villas and single-family homes, according to a statement in the master-planned community. Twin villas at Lennar's Babcock Ranch neighborhood will start at around $180,000, with single-family homes starting in the $220s, the release adds. The homes, in a maintenance-free part of the community, are from 1,417 to 1,564 square feet, with two-car garages, two to three bedrooms and a covered lanai.

“We are excited to be working with Lennar to expand access to the environmentally-friendly, active lifestyle we are creating at Babcock Ranch,” says Syd Kitson, Chairman and CEO of Babcock Ranch developer Kitson & Partners, in the release.

Other homebuilders in Babcock Ranch, one of the largest proposed master-planned communities on the west coast of Florida, include Naples-based Fox Premier Builders, Homes by Towne and Stock Development. Construction of some model homes began late last year.

Straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee counties, the environmentally friendly Babcock Ranch is projected to eventually be home to about 50,000 people, 19,500 homes and six million square feet of commercial space. Kitson & Partners has invested more than $175 million in the project and will spend another $125 million for the first phase through 2019, according to bond documents.

Lennar has built more than 60 communities in Southwest Florida. On a national scale, it had $11 billion in sales 2016.