Founders Square Underway at Babcock Ranch

The revolutionary new development of Founders Square is now underway at Babcock Ranch, setting the stage for a sustainable city of the future. This innovative downtown district will eventually serve as the commercial and social center of the community, outfitted with common area solar panels that will help power the entire development and town, a first for any town in the nation. While the first residents of Babcock Ranch won’t start moving into town until early 2017, construction is already underway for Founders Square. When finished the park will include splash fountains, lakefront boardwalks, a band shell and shade to be used as a central gathering place for neighbors and friends. Founders Square is phase one of the project by developer Kitson & Partners and will eventually include several more construction phases to the south. Constructed by Skanska, the buildings of Founders Square were designed by Harvard Jolly Architects. The first building planned for the development is a lakeside restaurant, which will then be followed by a general store and educational discovery center. Options in dining, shopping, entertainment, recreation and office space will all be within a short walk of the community’s homes. The idea is to give residents a true town square and plenty of places to meet with neighbors, from front porches to a grand event lawn in the lakefront park. A charter school for elementary and middle school age students is set to open in Fall 2017 while medical offices and other health programs are set to be available starting in early 2018. Meanwhile, the first phase of homes will range in price from the $200,000s to upwards of $900,000, eventually including townhomes, condos and single-family homes. Located about 20 minutes to the east of Fort Myers and 20 miles to the north of Southwest Florida International Airport, the entire project has been in the design phase for years, now finally getting off the ground with an 18,000 acre town.