Kitson & Partnershas has hired veteran town builder Rick Severance to lead the development of the new town of Babcock Ranch. The city will be located on land from both Charlotte and Lee County near Fort Myers. Severance most recently served as senior vice president of planning, development and operations for the St. Joe Company. Prior to that, he served as CEO of New Vector Limited, a consulting firm based in New York, and CEO of the Seaside Community Development Co. in the Florida Panhandle.
Construction has already begun on Babcock Ranch. The new town will have as many as 19,500 homes and 50,000 residents when it’s built out. In 2009, the community joined with Florida Power & Light to announce plans to make Babcock Ranch the first solar-powered city in the United States. The city will have the largest photovoltaic power station in the world and its network of rooftop solar panels on commercial buildings should be able to send the excess power it produces onto the Florida electrical grid.
“Rick has an outstanding track record that encompasses residential, commercial and resort projects that are livable, engaging and uniquely suited to their environment,” says Syd Kitson, chairman and founding partner of Kitson & Partners.
