A new 112,000-square-foot mixed-use complex designed for retail shops, restaurants, bars, office space and residential units is planned for Babcock Ranch.
Called B Street at Babcock Ranch, there are approximately 20 parties negotiating leases, said Jon Cashion, a principal with commercial real estate agency Katz & Associates.
A groundbreaking ceremony is slated for early 2025, and tenants are expected to be in place in 2026. Underground pipes will be laid by the end of 2024, Cashion said.
B Street, located near Founder’s Square, is being planned as the anchor of Babcock Ranch. The center seeks to attract tenants offering art, cuisine, music, boutiques, fitness amenities, breweries, bars, nightlife venues, restaurants, boutiques, retail stores and service tenants.
B Street will have approximately 70,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, 42,000 square feet of ground-floor office building space, two residential buildings featuring 140 units and more than 950 square feet of surface-level parking.
Cashion said interest in establishing a business at Babcock Ranch might be due to it not sustaining significant damage from the recent hurricanes, including Ian, Helene and Milton. The community is built 30 feet above sea level and was designed to minimize the risk of flooding from storm surges.
During Hurricane Ian when much of Southwest Florida lost power, Babcock Ranch didn’t because its solar-powered infrastructure was designed with concrete poles and buried electrical lines.
Katz & Associates recently signed a lease with HomeGoods, its last tenant at the fully occupied Shoppes at Yellow Pine at Babcock Ranch. Other tenants at that shopping center include Ulta Beauty, Five Below, Marshalls, Ace Hardware, Five Guys, Panera Bread, Tampa General Health (two spaces), Hope Chiropractic, Jersey Mike’s, Oar & Iron, Boujee Nails, Fountain Pools, Seymour Smiles Orthodontics, Yummy Express, Verizon, Papa Johns, Carvel Ice Cream and The Aesthetics Lounge and Spa.
The Shoppes at Yellow Pine are located across from Crescent B Commons that is fully leased by tenants, including Publix, Starbucks, Pet Supermarket, Heartland Dental, Great Clips, Fifth Third Bank, Fiore + Ela Salon, Pi Local and M’Xuma Tacos.
Cashion said B Street will be located about a mile and a half from Crescent B and The Shoppes at Yellow Pine.
Babcock Ranch is an 18,000-acre development that when built out will have 19,500 residential units and 6 million square feet of commercial space.
