The Babcock Ranch Podcast

On this episode of the Babcock Ranch Podcast, Syd Kitson welcomes former Florida State Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto, who represented Southwest Florida for a decade, served as Senate Majority Leader, and has played a direct role in bringing state funding and support to some of Babcock Ranch’s most important projects.

They trace her path from a young council member in Wellington to the State Senate, and the legislation she’s most proud of, including the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act, a life insurance bill that led to unclaimed policy payouts and was featured on 60 Minutes, and a law banning child marriage in Florida.

They walk through the projects her advocacy helped make possible at Babcock Ranch: funding for the All Abilities Park, the ICC 500-rated public storm shelter that housed thousands of residents during Hurricane Milton, a new Category 5-rated shelter now being built as part of the community’s autism center and Family Initiative, and a $32 million Wildlife Center opening next summer, tied to the broader Florida Wildlife Corridor that Babcock Ranch helped complete.

They close on what’s next, a nearly two-mile boardwalk connecting Midtown and Easttown, a planned senior center, and a new Art in Public Places initiative, and why Lizbeth says the greatest joy of her work now is helping good ideas go further than people initially imagined.

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On this episode of the Babcock Ranch Podcast, Tyler Kitson welcomes Matt Buehler, Senior Vice President of Commercial Development at Kitson & Partners, who has led the planning, leasing, and development of Babcock Ranch’s commercial and retail hubs since joining the company in 2010. They start with the pivot: before Babcock, Kitson & Partners held a portfolio of roughly eleven shopping centers across Florida for over fifteen years, assets the company exited to focus fully on building Babcock Ranch’s own commercial core.

They talk through the shift from a quick-turn land development strategy to a long-term, recurring revenue model, a change driven partly by the company’s fiduciary responsibility to the Washington State pension fund that backs Babcock Ranch’s development. Matt explains how that long-term mindset shaped the town’s first retail centers, Crescent B Commons and the Shoppes at Yellow Pine, and the early challenge of convincing cautious, recession-scarred retailers that Babcock Ranch’s residential growth was real.

The conversation turns to what’s next: a second Publix opening in Midtown in 2027, a 96,000-square-foot health and wellness center, and B Street, Babcock Ranch’s first true downtown district, a car-free, oak-shaded core designed for nightlife, restaurants, and boutique retail aimed at younger residents.

They close on what “self-sustaining” actually means for a town like Babcock Ranch, giving residents everything they need, from groceries to jobs to nightlife, without leaving the community, and why Matt still sees decades of commercial growth ahead.

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Syd Kitson sits down with longtime friend Bart Oates, a three-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Pro Bowler, and one of the most accomplished centers in NFL history, for a wide-ranging, personal conversation that spans from small-town Georgia football to the boardroom. Bart shares the story of growing up one of five siblings in Albany, Georgia, choosing BYU over Georgia Tech to pursue engineering, and pausing his football career to serve a two-year religious mission, a decision that, by chance, opened the door to his starting role.

He details his unconventional path to the NFL: going undrafted, winning back-to-back USFL championships with the Philadelphia Stars under coach Jim Mora, and signing with the New York Giants after their starting center suffered a career-ending injury. Bart and Syd trade stories about teammates Jim McMahon and Steve Young, playing through injuries, tough coaches like Bill Parcells, and the grueling realities of pro football in the 1980s. 

The conversation shifts to life after football, Bart's parallel career as an attorney and entrepreneur, his work supporting fellow players through career transitions, and reflections on purpose, identity, and family, including being a grandfather to eleven grandchildren. The episode closes with lighthearted banter about pickup basketball bragging rights and a warm invitation for Bart to visit Babcock Ranch.

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On this episode of the Babcock Ranch Podcast, Tyler Kitson welcomes Dr. Jennifer Languell, founder and president of Trifecta Construction Solutions, who was part of the team of design and engineering professionals who helped bring Babcock Ranch to fruition. Jennifer's background started in materials science and engineering before she earned a master's in civil engineering and construction management and a PhD in civil engineering and sustainable construction, work that eventually led her into green building, back when the term barely existed. She's since been recognized by organizations including the National Association of Home Builders and the Urban Land Institute, and served as a technical advisor and on-air expert for Discovery Channel's Discovery Project Earth.

They talk through the community outreach session that produced 75 founding sustainability principles, principles that became Babcock Ranch's core pillars, and why Jennifer chose Florida-specific FGBC certification, where she's held leadership roles, over the more office-oriented, nationally standardized LEED program. A recurring theme: sustainability only works if it makes business sense, an approach Jennifer credits with getting builders and developers to actually listen, after years of doors closing on her.

They dig into what makes Babcock Ranch different, willing to test a little of everything rather than commit to one or two green building features, then track real performance data over more than a decade to see what actually works. That data-driven approach led the team to hold builders to a "code plus" standard rather than mandating a full change in building systems.

They close on where the industry is headed, from 3D-printed and panelized construction to the role AI is starting to play in speeding up design iteration and building automation, and the difference between "cruise ship" builders who move slowly and the "speedboat" approach Babcock has tried to keep, even as the company grows.

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Tyler Kitson welcomes Amy Wicks, founding CEO of Wicks Consulting Group, who has been shaping Babcock Ranch's stormwater systems since the earliest days of the land purchase in 2006. They revisit how a young engineer with almost no experience was handed 93,000 acres and told not to mess it up, and the beach reading assignment that led to her breakthrough: copy what nature already figured out.

They talk through what makes Babcock Ranch's stormwater system different, designing not just for the 100-year storm, but for what happens when part of the system fails. Amy walks through real examples, from a clogged inlet during a heavy rain to a turtle-blocked control structure elsewhere in Florida, and how those lessons shaped Babcock's approach.

They close on lessons from Hurricanes Irma, Ian, and Milton, how the system performed, what worries Amy most about complacency, and where the industry is headed next, including new engineers, redevelopment challenges, and the role AI is starting to play in engineering.

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Syd Kitson welcomes Bill Weir, CNN's chief climate correspondent, former Nightline and Good Morning America anchor, and creator of The Wonder List, for a candid conversation broadcast from New York City. Bill opens up about a turbulent childhood shaped by his parents' divorce, a mother chasing religious visions across 16 schools in six states, and a father who instilled in him a deep love of the natural world. 

He traces his career path from local sports anchor in Los Angeles, covering Shaq and Kobe's early years, to a pivot toward hard news after 9/11, eventually finding his calling covering climate and the environment around the world. Bill and Syd discuss the personal costs of a life spent traveling to disaster zones and war zones, the tension between chasing big stories and building a stable home life, and what keeps Bill hopeful despite the scale of the climate crisis. The two dig into the politics of clean energy, misconceptions Americans have about innovation happening abroad (particularly in China's EV industry), and why climate resilience shouldn't be a partisan issue. 

Bill speaks directly to Babcock Ranch as a real-world proof point, a community that kept its power on through Hurricane Ian. It's a conversation about resilience, purpose, and the case for optimism in the face of a changing climate.

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Babcock Ranch founder Syd Kitson sits down with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to break down the bold decisions that redefined a state and built America’s first solar-powered town. From the bipartisan 2006 deal that created the largest land preservation project in Florida history to the brutal 2004 hurricane season that forged modern storm resilience, Kitson and Bush share the inside story of political grit, pioneering design, and why they built a world-class school before a single resident ever moved in.

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