Founder of Lazydays RV puts Hillsborough County estate on market for $22 million

And the mega-mansions just keep on coming.

A day after real estate investor Ben Mallah paid a record $16.5 million for a Belleair Shore home, the founder of Lazydays RV has put his lakefront estate in eastern Hillsborough County on the market for $22 million.

That makes it the most expensive residential property currently for sale in the Tampa Bay area, knocking a peninsular Gibstonton estate priced at $18 million out of the top spot.

Surrounded by 400 live oaks and 21 imported Italian cypress trees, the Oaks sits on 36 acres along Lake Thonotosassa, Hillsborough’s largest lake. The main house, designed in a French country manor style, is 27,152 square feet and has six bedrooms, seven full bathrooms and eight half baths with an elevator connecting all four levels. Custom details include hand-painted silk wallpaper, blue granite marble countertops and wood floors in a herringbone pattern.

The house “achieves the rare ability for a home of this size to feel warm, intimate and inviting,” said listing agent Mary Pond of Smith & Associates Real Estate.

And that’s not all — the house has a fitness room with steam showers, massage area, sauna, basement bowling alley, full-size game room done in retro colors and an indoor heated saltwater pool.

The price includes a two-story guest house, saltwater pool, a pool house, six-bay horse stable and barn, a boat dock with boat and jet ski lifts, a race track, a walking trail and a workshop. At night, the entire property is lit by 1,000 lights.

Property records show Donald Wallace and his wife, Erika, bought the land for $3 million in 2007. Wallace, along with his father and brother, founded Tampa-based Lazydays in 1976 with $500 and two travel trailers, eventually building it into what is said to be the world’s largest RV dealership. Donald later took over the company and sold it in 2004.

Read More

About Author

John William is a cum laude graduate of the University of Miami, and has spent his lifetime in sales and marketing. The fourth generation to join his family business, John William manages all luxury residential sales and transactions within the Tampa Bay and South Florida markets. A keen industry insider with a finger on the pulse of the area, He is an expert identifying high-return acquisition and development opportunities for hungry investors both large and small while simultaneously working with homeowners and homebuyers to buy and sell the home of their dreams… often times without the need of the MLS or a For Sale sign. He also oversees all digital and print marketing for the company, and handles all sales training for new and established agents alike. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Brookwood Florida, the oldest charity in Florida, and works to raise millions of dollars annually for local charities and museums.