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Money for nothing? Empty lot sells for $6.6 million

It helps that the lot is on the water in the midst of Davis Islands.

TAMPA, Fla. — It’s a lot more money than most of us can imagine, but somebody just spent $6.6 million on an empty lot in Tampa.

Yes. An empty lot.

The sale of the property whose address is 84 Adalia Avenue on Davis Islands - sets a record for the area.

“It’s a lot for a lot,” said John Senczyszyn, who has lived on Davis Islands close to 20 years. “That’s what they’re willing to pay to be next-door to me, I guess,” he laughed.

Even people whose families have lived on Davis islands their whole lives think it’s crazy.

“We wanted to buy on the water, but back then it was still expensive. Now we’re like, darn it - we should have, you know?” laughed Colette Tozlosky, whose grandparents moved here decades ago.

“It’s good to hear that Tampa Bay is on the map for luxury housing,” said Rob Glaser, CEO of Smith and Associates whose group sold the lot.

Glaser says it’s good news for anyone who owns property anywhere in Tampa Bay, because when real estate prices start going up in one section of town, the others nearby start to do the same and so on, creating a real estate ripple effect.

“Everything rises with it,” says Glaser, “There is a market for each person. And they support that value that they see by the higher price also.”

It’s not like real estate on Davis Islands has ever been cheap, relatively speaking.

Zillow values Derek Jeter’s house, built on two waterfront lots, at close to $18 million.

A Mediterranean-style bayfront beauty on Martinique Avenue just hit the market at $6.2 million, but at least it’s got a house sitting on it.

RELATED: WestShore Plaza owners buy nearby land

Real estate experts say folks with that kind of money don’t always want to buy somebody else’s house. They want to build their own, exactly the way they want it.

“Could be our finishes, our garages, our bedrooms, our plan for a boat that is unique to them,” said Glaser.

While neighbors say it’s nice to see values rising, they’re also concerned they could be going up too fast.

John Senczyszyn and his wife once thought of buying a bigger home in the same area when their kids came. But they’d have to leave the area to afford that now.

“Move out to Brandon or something? My family has lived here for 25 years,” he said, “So, you know what I mean? I’m not gonna move to another city.”

Colette Tozlosky’s family has lived on Davis Islands for three generations. But the fourth, her kids, just can’t afford it, she says.

That’s the downside to an up market.

“It’s going to make it impossible for young people to get a home here. I mean it’s just ridiculous,” said Tozlosky. “There’s a lot of people with a lot of money moving into this town. And it is changing things.”


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