Sydney W. Kitson
Chairman / Chief Executive Officer / Founding Partner
Sydney W. Kitson is Chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, a Florida-based real estate company specializing in the creation, development and management of master-planned communities, commercial properties, resort properties and golf courses.
Kitson is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Kitson had a notable career in the National Football League playing offensive guard for both the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Upon his retirement from professional football, he began his career in real estate by founding a company that from 1986 to 1992 was responsible for the development and sale of residential communities, commercial properties, retail stores, medical offices and senior housing units. In 1992 he helped create the residential division of Gale & Wentworth and became its President and Chief Operating Officer in 1996. From 1996 through 1999 he was responsible for overseeing the development of numerous successful master-planned communities including Cherry Valley (Montgomery Township, NJ) and Ibis Golf & Country Club (West Palm Beach, FL). He founded Kitson & Partners with Richard Brockway in 2000, locating the firm’s company headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
In 2006 Kitson completed the historic purchase of Babcock Ranch in Southwest Florida, encompassing more than 92,000 acres – an area five times the size of the island of Manhattan. Over 80% of the original land purchase, some 73,000 acres within Charlotte and Lee counties, has been preserved by the State of Florida and Lee County in the largest single land preservation agreement in the state’s history. On the remaining land Kitson & Partners will build an extraordinary, sustainable, environmentally-friendly green community where residents will live, work, learn and play amidst the natural splendor of Florida’s undeveloped wilderness. Babcock Ranch is an exceptional example of environmental preservation and responsible growth.
Kitson & Partners also currently owns and operates numerous retail shopping centers throughout Florida totaling more than 1.6 million square feet. In addition, Kitson & Partners is developing another 8.6 million square feet of retail, office and industrial space in the Daytona Beach, Orlando and Southwest Florida markets.
Syd Kitson is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, lectures at Princeton University, sits on the Policy Advisory Board for the Florida Solar Energy Center, and is a member of The Florida Council of 100. He is also on the Board of Directors of Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation, the Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium and the Grassy Waters Preserve, a 20-square mile wildlife sanctuary in West Palm Beach, Florida. Kitson is also a member of the NFL Alumni Association and the National Football League Players Association. In 2000, Syd received the Rainbow Award from the Adam Walsh Children's Foundation.