FGCU, Babcock Ranch, pick up $21M in state funding for institute

The university will build a new facility in the master-planned community will promote ‘career-readiness and a commitment to environmental stewardship.’

By Louis Llovio
| 7:45 a.m. August 18, 2025
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Florida Gulf Coast University's new facility will be built in Babcock Ranch's MidTown.

Charlotte–Lee–Collier

Florida Gulf Coast University will build a 125,000-square-foot facility to focus on sustainability and resiliency at Babcock Ranch, the solar-powered community in southwest Florida.

The Fort Myers university and the community’s developers say their plan for a new institute in the development’s MidTown will move forward after the Florida Legislature approved $21.7 million in phase one funding.

Kitson & Partners, the developers of Babcock Ranch, are donating $3 million toward “related initiatives” as well as the land.