CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. -- It's been ten years in the making, and now, Southwest Florida's 'City of the Future' is becoming a reality. The plan to essentially build a self-sustainable city on vacant land on Babcock Ranch near Punta Gorda is well underway.
Kitson and Partners" say the key pieces they needed to make this project happen have now been taken care of. Developers say the goal is for it to become the first solar-powered community in the world.
It's already the nation's largest development currently underway. This community will include thousands of homes, restaurants, a downtown area, and a school that teaches K-12.
"Babcock Ranch is going to be the first new town powered by the sun. So during the day when you turn on your lights at Babcock Ranch, you're gonna know that that electricity is coming from solar energy. At night when its dark, it's gonna come from the grid, which is powered by natural gas. So the energy that's coming in and powering Babcock Ranch is about as clean as you can it can get," said Kitson & Partners CEO Syd Kitson.
Florida Power and Light is also building a 75-megawatt solar powered generating facility.
The first phase of this community is slated to be complete by next year. But the project as a whole could take up to 20 years to finish.
The community is located off State Road 31 near Little Farm Road.
