Massive community posts big sales day

BABCOCK RANCH — More than 1,000 people attended a showcase event over the weekend for Babcock Ranch, the master-planned community and solar-powered town that straddles the border of Charlotte and Lee counties.

Dubbed “Make the Move,” Babcock Ranch officials say the launch of two new neighborhoods, from Lennar and Pulte, with prices starting in the $190s, has spurred “rapid growth” in the community. The event was held Nov. 4. “The day was a big success with builders writing multiple contracts and many more scheduled to be signed over the next few weeks,” the release states.

Invited guests also met with builders, compared floor plans and took trolley tours of the new neighborhood sites. Tours of model homes from Homes by Towne, Stock, Fox Premier Homes, Florida Lifestyle and Castle Harbor, were also available in the Lake Timber neighborhood, the release adds. Palm Beach Gardens-based Kitson & Partners is the developer behind Babcock Ranch.

“We are committed to making Babcock Ranch a multigenerational town with all types of housing options across the full range of price points,” Kitson & Partners Chairman and CEO Syd Kitson says in the release. “We've got an outstanding roster of builders who are helping to deliver on that promise. The two new neighborhoods now under construction bring in a variety of floor plans in the price ranges where we've seen the greatest demand — particularly from young families and empty nesters.”

Babcock Ranch plans ultimately include 19,500 homes and six million square feet of commercial space. Residents should begin to move in early next year, and a grand opening of the community is scheduled for March 10, 2018.