WINTER PARK — Two premium Park Avenue lots on Lake Maitland sit empty next to each other after mansions on both were demolished in recent months.

One sold for $6.85 million late last year. The other changed hands earlier this month for $6.5 million, the second time that property has sold in less than six months, making the seller a nice profit.

Together, they encompass three acres of prime waterfront land with about 240 feet of shoreline.

“That’s the rumor in town [that they are connected] and I have heard it from more than one person, and no they are not connected,” said Brian Mitnick, a real estate agent with Re/Max 200 Realty, told GrowthSpotter. “There was a period where you could have bought both, which would have been pretty incredible, but no, they had nothing to do with each other.”

Mitnick represented the seller of the property at 1190 N. Park Ave. when it sold in October 2023. The 20,000-square-foot home was torn down.

That property was the family home of homebuilder Charlie Clayton’s late parents, Joan and Charles Clayton.

Winter Park Planning and Transportation Director Jeffrey Briggs said no plans or permits have been filed for new construction on the property.

Mitnick was on the buyer’s side of the transaction for the 1.22 acres at 1180 N. Park Ave. in August 2023. The seller was the estate of Lynn Lewellen Mercer.

“One day, I was there [at the Clayton property] and I thought I’d love to see if I could get ahold of the property next door,” Mitnick told GrowthSpotter, who added after many attempts, he finally met Mercer.

“She was a nice as could be, and I said, here’s my card, if you ever want to sell. Two or three months, later, I saw she passed away.”

After some time, Mitnick ran into one of Mercer’s sons, and after expressing condolences, learned the property was controlled by the estate.

Enter builder Rial Jones of Jones Clayton Construction. “I mentioned [the property] to Rial, and we put in an offer for the property for $5.5 million.”

The approval to demolish the 5,850-square-foot home on the property came in late October.

“There was no way to save that thing. It was a mess. It was loaded up with termites,” Mitnick said.

“I know that [Jones] was considering putting a spec house on the property. I was hoping to have a spec over there, which would have been a one-of-a-kind property,” Mitnick said.

Mitnick said he later saw a sign on the property saying agent Anthony Consalvo with Florida One Real Estate had sold the property, bringing a buyer directly to Jones. GrowthSpotter reached out to Consalvo but did not receive a response.

The property changed hands on Jan. 26 for $6.5 million, a million dollars more than it sold for in August.

Public records show the buyer was a Delaware-based LLC. There are no construction plans filed with the city for the second property, either.

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