The remaining 17,361 acres will be developed by a joint venture of West Palm Beach-based Kitson & Partners, Evergreen Partners and New York City-based Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund, according to principals at the Miami law firms of Akerman Senterfitt and White & Case, which brokered the transaction. The JV purchased the Florida Babcock Co. from the Babcock family investment group for an undisclosed price and sold the land parcel to the state and Lee County.

The $350 million tag for the 74,000 acres equates to $4,730 per acre or about 11 cents per sf. The ranch has been in the Babcock family since 1914 and is considered one of the oldest properties of its kind in Florida.

"In addition to involving many challenging legal issues, this transaction was further complicated by the need to coordinate its many moving parts to make sure they were integrated properly," says Teddy D. Klinghoffer, an Akerman Senterfitt corporate lawyer and the lead negotiator for Kitson & Partners. He says the deal creates "an historical environmental preserve and will also result in the creation of much needed workforce housing" in Lee and Charlotte counties.