Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jun 23, 2025

One Florida community built to weather hurricanes endured Ian with barely a scratch

One Florida community built to weather hurricanes endured Ian with barely a scratch

Like many others in Southwest Florida, Mark Wilkerson seemingly gambled his life by choosing to shelter at home rather than evacuate when Hurricane Ian crashed ashore last week as a Category 4 storm.

But it wasn't just luck that saved Wilkerson and his wife, Rhonda, or prevented damage to their well-appointed one-story house. You might say that it was all by design.

In 2018, Wilkerson became one of the first 100 residents of Babcock Ranch — an innovative community north of Fort Myers where homes are built to withstand the worst that Mother Nature can throw at them without being flooded out or losing electricity, water or the internet.

The community is located 30 miles inland to avoid coastal storm surges. Power lines to homes are all run underground, where they are shielded from high winds. Giant retaining ponds surround the development to protect houses from flooding. As a backup, streets are designed to absorb floodwaters and spare the houses.

Mark Wilkerson with his solar-powered golf cart. He was one of the first 100 people to move into Babcock Ranch.


Wilkerson says he and his wife moved here from Illinois. "We'd almost been ready to build north of Tampa, on the Gulf," he says. "And then the last hurricane came through and reminded me that ... I want to be in a place where I don't have to evacuate."


Most residents chose to ride out the storm at home


So when the storm hit, Wilkerson and his wife stayed put, as did most other residents here. Although the community didn't experience the hurricane at its most intense, Wilkerson says they felt 100-mph winds. At one point, the lights in his house flickered but "lo and behold, we never lost power."

In fact, his house didn't even lose a shingle. That's the basic story of Babcock Ranch, post-Ian: Aside from a traffic light at the development's main entrance that's no longer there, a few street signs lying on the ground and some knocked-over palm trees, you'd hardly know that a hurricane came through.

Unfortunately, not so for many of the surrounding communities, where damaged structures and power outages have not been uncommon.

This 870-acre solar array, with 650,000 individual panels, powers Babcock Ranch during the day.


Wilkerson has worked in the solar industry since the 1980s, and one of the things that drew him to Babcock Ranch is its innovative use of solar energy: 870 acres of land owned by the development sport 650,000 photovoltaic panels, operated by Florida Power & Light.

The solar array powers the whole community — and then some. It can supply 30,000 homes. Babcock Ranch has only about 5,000 residents, though. The excess goes back into the grid and is used to power surrounding communities. At night and on cloudy days, a natural gas generator kicks in to fill the gap.


Developers aim for a strong and sustainable community


Babcock Ranch is the brainchild of Syd Kitson, a 64-year-old former professional football player who made his name in the 1980s with the Green Bay Packers. He went on to found a real estate development company, Kitson & Partners, and Babcock Ranch is one of firm's showcase projects.

Jennifer Languell is a sustainability engineer who helped design Babcock Ranch, and she lives here too. "We felt you could develop and improve land, not just develop in a traditional way where people think you are destroying the land."

"We have a lot of open spaces. We have a lot of trails. We have a lot of parks," she says.

"The things that we do, you don't see. The strength of the buildings, or the infrastructure that deals with stormwater, or the utilities. You don't see that stuff," she says. "Which is good, because most people don't need or want to think about it."

Jennifer Languell is a green-building and sustainable-development engineer who helped design Babcock Ranch.


As confident as Languell is of the community's durability, even she was a little unnerved by the storm's sheer strength. "I can definitely tell you that I pulled up my construction drawings and I verified the wind speed," she says.


Their good fortune pays dividends for others in need


Admittedly, Babcock Ranch has a slightly insular feel to it. But partly because residents were spared the full wrath of the hurricane, they have been able to reach out and help those in need.

A community center here was designed to double as a reinforced storm shelter. Everyone staying there right now has come in from other hard-hit communities. Babcock Ranch residents have been fielding requests on social media and shuttling in supplies.

At night at Babcock Ranch, electricity generation switches from solar power to natural gas.


Judith Schrag, 70, who uses a walker, is sitting out front of the shelter smoking a cigarette. She arrived at the Babcock Ranch shelter a few days ago
after her Port Charlotte apartment was flooded out.

The community has been "absolutely phenomenal in terms of donations," Schrag says. "They are what have helped to keep this place going."

Messages written by kids outside the field house and Babcock Ranch community center, which doubles as a hurricane shelter.


Hurricane Ian was a big test for this community, where houses start at around $250,000. Languell says the storm provided "proof of concept" for the community's design. The developers of Babcock Ranch welcome imitators, she adds. Communities elsewhere in the U.S. might benefit from what has been learned here.

But there's still more to learn, Languell says.

"We don't want to brag by any stretch of the imagination, because you do that, and the next thing you know, you get hit by a Category 5 and something doesn't work as well," she says.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
×