The solar-powered community will be building its first apartment complex. The project will have 373 units on 17 acres with their own clubhouse and pool. The apartments will be near the Crescent B Commons shopping center, just off State Road 31, where anchor tenant Publix is scheduled to open Sept. 23.

With about 2,700 residents, Babcock Ranch continues to be one of the fastest-growing communities in Southwest Florida. Over the past year, 691 single-family homes were built. Only Ave Maria in Collier County had more, with 712.

That Publix-anchored shopping center booked so fast that Babcock Ranch will be building another one adjacent to it. The second shopping center will have 100,000 square feet with service-related businesses such as a hardware store and a car wash. 

“We’re very proud to be in Charlotte County,” said Syd Kitson, the town’s founder and CEO of Kitson & Partners. “We’re very proud to be in Lee County. But we’re also very proud to be Babcock Ranch. We’ve got our own identity now. With the Publix-shopping center opening, we’re a working town now.” 

Groundbreaking on the apartments will begin in 2022, Kitson said. 

“When you’re building a new town, you need to have total stratification of pricing and products,” Kitson said. “We really need to have a variety of single-family homes. Small-lot, large-lot. But you also need different products. Having apartments was very important.”