A Town that Didn’t Take, it Gave Back “My dad, Syd Kitson, is the visionary,” says Tyler Kitson, Senior Vice President of Communities at Kitson & Partners, developer of Babcock Ranch. “He’s always had this calling—this deep belief that development could be different. That it could honor the land, not exploit it. And now? We’re watching that belief become a benchmark.” When the Kitsons purchased the 91,000 acres of historic ranch land that would one day become Babcock Ranch, they made an unprecedented decision: 73,000 acres— the vast majority—were sold back to the state for permanent preservation.
That was not a PR gesture. It was the blueprint.
“From day one, we weren’t just building a town—we were preserving a legacy,” Tyler says. “About 90% of the original Babcock Ranch is in conservation forever. That shaped everything.” And so, Babcock Ranch was born—not in defiance of Florida’s fragile ecosystem, but in collaboration with it. Developers studied century-old flood maps, mapping natural water flow paths, adjusting infrastructure to accommodate—not redirect—those ancient rhythms.
“He’s always had this calling—this deep belief that development could be different. That it could honor the land, not exploit it.”
The result?
A town that breathes with the land it occupies.
73,000 Acres Preserved Over 90% of the original ranch land was sold back to the state for permanent conservation Eco-Engineered Infrastructure Designed with nature, not against it — smart lakes, natural water flow mapping, and a real-time water tracking system protect the town from flooding and hurricanes. America’s First Solar-Powered Town Babcock Ranch runs on a 150-megawatt solar array that powers the community and feeds clean energy back into the grid.
— Tyler Kitson Senior Vice President of Communities at Kitson & Partners
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