Babcock Ranch, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Babcock Ranch
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 Babcock Ranch
Location in Florida
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| Country | United States | |
| State | Florida | |
| Counties | Charlotte, Lee | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 27 sq mi (69 km2) | |
| Elevation | 33 ft (10 m) | |
| Time zone | UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−04:00 (EDT) | |
| ZIP codes |
33917, 33982
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| Area codes | 239, 941 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 278018 | |
Babcock Ranch is a special kind of town called a planned community in Florida. It covers about 17,000 acres in Charlotte and Lee counties. The town is named after Edward V. Babcock, who bought the land in 1914. He was a lumber businessman and a former mayor of Pittsburgh.
Babcock Ranch was created through a partnership between the State of Florida and local governments. This partnership also helped set up the nearby Babcock Ranch Preserve, a large natural area. Construction on the town started in 2016. It officially opened in 2018 as America's first town powered mostly by solar energy.
Contents
History of Babcock Ranch
How Babcock Ranch Started
The land that is now Babcock Ranch was bought by Edward V. Babcock in 1914. He was a successful businessman and mayor of Pittsburgh. For many years, the land was used for logging and farming. These activities still help pay for the care of the Babcock Ranch Preserve today.
In 2006, the Florida government passed a law called the Babcock Ranch Preserve Act. This law made it the first preserve in Florida that had to earn its own money. It does this through a special partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Forest Service.
In 2009, a company called Kitson & Partners teamed up with Florida Power & Light. They announced plans to make Babcock Ranch the first city in the United States powered by solar power. They planned a large photovoltaic power station and solar panels on buildings. The goal was for the town to send more clean energy back to the power grid than it uses.
Florida's Land Purchase for Conservation
In the late 1990s, the Babcock family wanted to sell their ranch. Leaders who cared about nature saw this land as very important. They wanted to buy it to create a protected natural pathway. This pathway would stretch from Lake Okeechobee in central Florida to the Charlotte Harbor Estuary on Florida's Gulf Coast.
In 2005, the state offered $455 million for 91,000 acres. However, the sale did not happen right away because of legal and tax issues.
Later, in 2005, a Florida real estate company called Kitson & Partners agreed to buy the Babcock Florida Company. This included the ranch. Kitson & Partners then made a plan to sell over 74,000 acres of the land to the State of Florida. This part of the land would become a preserve to protect the most sensitive natural areas. The sale to the state and Lee County was completed on July 31, 2006.
As part of this deal, Kitson & Partners received $350 million for the land. Most of this money came from the state budget. This purchase was called the "largest preservation buy in Florida history" by Time magazine.
Developing a Sustainable Community
The main part of the new town is about ten miles southwest of the old Babcock family home. Plans for Babcock Ranch were created with ideas from the public. Many meetings were held in Charlotte County in 2006.
Babcock Ranch was designed to attract technology companies and clean energy research. It was planned to be a self-contained town with four villages and five smaller areas called hamlets. The plan included 20,000 permanent jobs. It aimed to support up to 50,000 residents in 19,000 homes. There would also be 5 million square feet of businesses, shops, offices, and public spaces.
The downtown area was designed for walking and biking. It will have 8,000 homes, offices, a hospital, shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Construction began in November 2015. The start of building was celebrated on Earth Day in 2016.
Babcock Ranch will have eight special schools run by Charlotte County Public Schools. Elementary schools will be close to each village center. The high school will be easy to reach by bike paths. Also, Florida Gulf Coast University plans to build a smaller campus there. All buildings in Babcock Ranch must be energy-efficient. They must also meet Florida Green Building Coalition standards.
Babcock Ranch was built to be "Florida's first storm-proof town." It is designed to handle strong hurricane winds and heavy rain. In 2022, Hurricane Ian hit the area. Babcock Ranch had very little damage and did not lose power.
Modern Infrastructure and Green Energy
Babcock Ranch plans to have a connected system of computer networks. This system will manage all city services, like transportation, energy, and communication. It will also connect to local businesses. This will make Babcock Ranch one of IBM's "smarter cities." The entire city will have wireless Internet access.
A large 75-megawatt solar power plant started being built in 2016 by Florida Power & Light Company. This plant, along with solar panels on commercial buildings, will create more energy than the city uses. This makes Babcock Ranch the first solar-powered city in the United States.
The solar power plant at Babcock Ranch will cover 400 acres of land. It will connect to the main power grid. This means the city can get power when it's cloudy and send power back when it's sunny. Using solar power helps reduce carbon emissions and our reliance on oil. It also aims to lower energy bills for residents. "Smart home" technology will help people use energy more efficiently. Residents and businesses will use smart grid technology to watch and control how much energy they use.
In November 2023, Tampa General Hospital announced plans to open a new facility in Babcock Ranch.
Babcock Ranch Nature Preserve
About 90% of the total land at Babcock Ranch will remain undeveloped. This includes more than half of the area owned by the developers, Kitson & Partners. This land will be kept as open space, nature reserves, or for farming. The Babcock Ranch Preserve covers 80% of the original 91,000-acre ranch.
The preserve pays for itself. All its operations are supported by money earned from the working ranch, which is owned by the public. This is the first and only preserve of its kind in Florida. Kitson & Partners managed the preserve until 2016. After that, a non-profit group took over. The state plans to continue business activities to keep the publicly owned land as a nature reserve. It will also offer activities like hunting, camping, and hiking.
