Babcock Ranch is a planned community located in southeastern Charlotte County and northeastern Lee County, Florida, consisting of approximately 17,000 acres (6,900 ha). The community was named after Edward Vose Babcock, a lumber baron and former mayor of Pittsburgh, who purchased the land in 1914. The planned community was approved as part of a public-private partnership with the State of Florida and local governments. The deal established the neighboring Babcock Ranch Preserve. Construction on the Ranch began in 2016 and opened in 2018 as America’s first solar town.