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 Sept. 28 as a Category 4 storm.
But it was not 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, the Wilkersons became some 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.
In a report Oct. 6, National Public Radio (NPR) noted, to begin with, the community is located 30 mi. 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, and, as a backup, the development's streets are designed to absorb floodwaters and spare the houses.
Babcock Ranch's Concept Appealed to Couple
"We'd almost been ready to build north of Tampa, on the Gulf [of Mexico]," explained Wilkerson, who moved with his wife to the Sunshine State from Illinois. "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."
So, when the storm hit, the Wilkersons stayed put, as did most other residents here, according to NPR. Although the community did not experience the hurricane at its most intense, Mark Wilkerson said they felt its 100-mph winds.
At one point, he noted, the lights in his house flickered but "lo and behold, we never lost power." In fact, his house did not lose one roof shingle.
And that is the basic story of Babcock Ranch, post-Ian: Aside from a traffic light at the development's main entrance that is no longer there, a few street signs lying on the ground, and some knocked-over palm trees, you would hardly know that a hurricane came through.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for people living in surrounding communities, where damaged structures and power outages have been commonplace.
Wilkerson, though, 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. A total of 870 acres of land owned by the development sports 650,000 photovoltaic panels, operated by Florida Power & Light.
The solar array powers the entire community — and then some — as it can supply 30,000 homes. With Babcock Ranch having 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 Aimed for Strong, Sustainable Community
Babcock Ranch is the brainchild of Syd Kitson, a former professional football player who made his name in the 1980s playing for the NFL's Green Bay Packers. He went on to found a real estate development company, Kitson & Partners, and Babcock Ranch is one of the firm's showcase projects.
Jennifer Languell is a sustainability engineer who helped design Babcock Ranch, and she lives in the community as well.
"We felt you could develop and improve land, not just develop in a traditional way where people think you are destroying the land," she told NPR. "We have a lot of open spaces. We have a lot of trails. We have a lot of parks.
"The things that we do, you don't see," Languell added. "The strength of the buildings, or the infrastructure that deals with stormwater, or the utilities. You don't see that stuff, which is good, because most people don't need or want to think about it."
As confident as Languell is of the community's durability, even she was a little unnerved by Hurricane Ian's sheer strength.
"I can definitely tell you that I pulled up my construction drawings and I verified the wind speed," she acknowledged.
Community's Good Fortune Paid Forward
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 neighbors that experienced much more damage from the storm.
A community center at Babcock Ranch was designed to double as a reinforced storm shelter. Everyone staying there right now has come in from other hard-hit communities, according to NPR. The community's residents also have been fielding requests for help on social media and shuttling in supplies.
Judith Schrag arrived at the Babcock Ranch shelter after her Port Charlotte apartment was flooded out.
The community has been "absolutely phenomenal in terms of donations," she said. "They are what have helped to keep this place going."
Hurricane Ian was a big test for this community, where houses start at around $250,000. Languell said the storm provided "proof of concept" for the community's design, and, she added, its developers' welcome imitators, noting that communities elsewhere in the United States might benefit from what has been learned at Babcock Ranch.
But there is still more to learn, Languell explained.
"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."
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