Three years ago, billionaire businessman Joe Lewis, who developed the exclusive Isleworth Golf & Country Club, sold his luxurious, Georgian-style estate on Lake Bessie for $11 million.

The buyer was another billionaire, sports beverage mogul Mike Repole, who promptly demolished the 17,000-square-foot mansion in 2022 to build a new home for his family — only to abandon those plans when he found another home in Isleworth he liked better.

Gone was the seven-bedroom, eight-bathroom mansion Lewis designed back in 1990 to resemble an English manor with stately columns, custom woodworking and marble floors. Also gone, the swimming pool, pool house and driveway. What remained was six acres of lakefront property between the seventh and eighth holes of one of the nation’s top golf courses.

Now that vacant lot has sold, GrowthSpotter reported — for $4 million more than the mansion itself. Repole just agreed to part with it in a cash deal for $15 million.

“This was just something he was left with,” Isleworth Realty President Wayne Sheffield, who originally sold the Lewis estate to Repole in 2021, said of the lot. Sheffield’s wife, Carey, brought in the new buyer, who has not been identified.

Tavistock Group founder and London soccer team owner Joe Lewis lists Isleworth estate for $15M

“So basically, we approached him off-market,” Sheffield said. “He wasn’t really going to sell it. He was keeping it for the future. But in the end, it was a good offer, and they decided to make the deal, which is great. The new buyer is going to build their family home there with water on three sides.”

The property has 1,000 feet of shoreline and can only be accessed through Champions Point, a private road exclusively serving this estate in Windermere.

It was a record price for a single residential lot in Central Florida, and it was Carey Sheffield’s first sale. She had just received her real estate license three months earlier.

Hard-to-find lakefront estates reign supreme in 2023 as home sales top record-setting $35 million

Repole, who cofounded BodyArmor in 2011 and sold it to Coca-Cola ten years later, signed the deed as managing member of the selling entity, Mr Champion LLC. The buyer is listed in documents as Sun Res LLC, which is registered in Delaware.

“The privacy and respect of our clients remains of utmost importance to Isleworth Realty and will not be disclosed, but we had a good relationship from previous sales with the seller and approached them with regards to this off-market sale,” Wayne Sheffield said.

Demand for ultra-premium lakefront lots in luxury markets has driven up prices in recent years, prompting some sellers to consider demolition. The Lewis home was built in 1990, which despite the opulence, made it a good candidate for a tear-down. Two side-by-side vacant lots on Lake Maitland in Winter Park sold last year for $6.85 million and $6.5 million, respectively, after the sellers razed the homes. Both buyers have since filed plans for new, modern estate homes.

Brian Mitnick, a realtor with Re/Max 200 who was involved in both Winter Park deals, has told GrowthSpotter that buyers at this price point don’t want to deal with renovating an older home. They’re willing to pay a premium for a buildable lot.

“There was nothing like this land in Winter Park,” Mitnick said. “Here’s the problem: Right now, I’ve got two or three people who are looking for lakefront homes on the Winter Park chain of lakes and they’re just non-existent. The only way to find anything (here) is to tear something down. But you’re going to have to pay for it.”

Meanwhile, Lewis, founder of Tavistock Group and former owner of the Premier League Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, pleaded guilty earlier this year to securities fraud. He was spared prison time but paid a $5 million fine and more than $50 million in financial penalties. As part of the plea agreement, Lewis and his companies resigned and surrendered control over board seats and participation in board meetings for all publicly-traded U.S. corporations.

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.