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A house for a burger king

The new owner of a $5.175-million Davis Islands house is Blake J. Casper, a third generation McDonald's franchise executive in the lineage of Tampa's burger kings.

By KEVIN GRAHAM
Published June 5, 2006

	[Photo courtesy of Smith & Associates Realtors]
	A listing on Davis Islands is briefly Hillsborough's priciest.

Turns out, the new owner of the $5.175-million house is Blake J. Casper, a third generation McDonald's franchise executive in the lineage of Tampa's burger kings.

His grandfather opened Tampa's first McDonald's on Dale Mabry Highway in 1958. Today, Caspers Co. and Caspers Group has more than 70 locations and 3,200 employees.

There are dream homes scattered throughout the county that cost a lot more to build than the house on Ladoga. But those were built in concert with the future owner. The Ladoga house's distinction is that a general contractor built it to place on the market, and its for sale sign fetched the highest price ever, according to the Hillsborough Property Appraiser's Office.

As extravagant as the price tag on Blake Casper's new home sounds, it might not hold the official record for most expensive listing too long.

The Avila mansion built by Paul Bilzerian, near Lutz, was auctioned for a reported $5.95-million in April to an undisclosed bidder. The 30,000-square-foot home is the largest in Hillsborough. Official details on the Avila sale haven't been released by the Property Appraiser's Office.

Contractor Don Hughes completed construction on 80 Ladoga Ave. in December. The Mediterranean-style home has six bedrooms, 8 ½ bathrooms and a three-car garage. The lanai and cabana alone, at 773 square feet, are as large as most two-bedroom apartments. The entire home measures 6,740 square feet.

Hughes says each time he builds a home, he tries to outdo the last one.

"People have told me people with that much money want what they want, not what you and your architect have created. I found that's not the case,'' Hughes said.

He featured the home on his company's Web site, describing it as, "cozy and quaint for those who desire security and privacy, but also spacious and lavish for entertaining and relaxation."

He said he's planning a home that likely will sell for about $6-million on Davis Islands that will top even the Ladoga house.

Mary Pond, with Smith & Associates Realtors Inc., who sold the home with her partner Ed Gunning, said the home has a chef's kitchen with maple cabinetry, a wine cellar and a media room that could double as a seventh bedroom. The view from the back of the home looks out over Hillsborough Bay, with Bayshore Boulevard in the distance.

In November, Casper paid $9,000 for a backstage tour of Desperate Housewives at a Tampa Museum of Art benefit. He hosted a fundraiser at his Bayshore Boulevard home in September for Florida gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher.

Casper closed on the Davis Islands home in March, but could not be reached for comment.

[Last modified June 5, 2006, 05:32:34]