Effort underway to preserve historic Jeter House

Upon news breaking that the new owner of the former Davis Island home of Derek Jeter has filed a commercial demolition permit with the intent of tearing it down, local activists have launched an initiative designed to preserve the property as is.

“When you think about who has lived here, the cultural and historic significance is obvious and undeniable,” said Helen Frimsley of the Davis Island Historical Guild. “We’re talking of course about Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, but also Tom Brady and Antonio Brown of the Buccaneers.”

“Plus, Beyoncé and Jay-Z stayed there for a few days prior to the Queen Bee’s concert at Raymond James Stadium way back in 2016,” she added. “My God, can you even imagine the epic ragers that have been thrown there over the years?”

The 11-year-old, 22,796 square foot, seven-bedroom, 16-bath property sits on 1.25 acres and includes a wine cellar, a movie theater and a gym, as well as an au-pair wing, an air-conditioned six-car garage, a dock with two boat lifts, an 80-foot lap pool, a heated spa and 9,000 square feet of covered porches and balconies. It sits on three lots which are believed to be more valuable as plots of land than the expansive house that’s currently there.

When it was mentioned that similar preservation efforts on behalf of the Jackson House in downtown Tampa, which once provided accommodations for Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. among others have repeatedly encountered obstacles, Ms. Frimsley blinked several times and said, “Okay, but this is Beyoncé and Jay Z though.”