Marion County is known for its acres and acres of sprawling horse farms that make it the Horse Capital of the World. And in northwest Marion, one of those farms – perhaps one of the most unique ones – is up for sale.
The home, located at 3707 NW 110th Ave., totals 11,520 square feet and was inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is completely circular with a brick exterior, metal roof, sky- lights and an enclosed pool and English garden.
But the house is just one of many draws of the 80.16-acre property.
The farm is set to go up for auction, without reserve, later this month through Elite Auctions, which hopes the property will fetch nearly $9.95 million. Beyond its luxuriousness, the estate also has a unique historical tie, as it is being sold by a prominent Florida dairy family.
South Florida’s last dairy farm family
Wiley Waldrep, known as “Broward County’s last real cowboy,” created the Waldrep Dairy Farm in 1928 in present-day Cooper City. After his death at 91 in 1997, his grandchildren attempted to continue the farm operations before accepting an offer from a developer for $104 million in 2003.
The farm was considered the last functional dairy farm in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Waldrep’s descendants purchased the Ocala prop- erty in 2005 and currently own it – and a handful of other local properties – as Waldrep Enterprises, ac- cording to the Marion County Property Appraiser’s Of- fice website. They decided to sell the farm “in a desire to explore other interests,” according to email commu- nication through Elite Auctions and real estate agent Linda Doyle.
“This is a beautiful property on ALL levels,” the Waldrep family wrote. “The elevation is beautiful. The quality of the land in the location is perfect for horses.”
Draws for humans and horses
In addition to the garden and pool, the massive home, built in 1981, contains five bedrooms, six full baths, two half baths, a home theater and bar, game room and an eight-car garage.
For humans, the property also has a private tennis court, racquetball court and fitness center. For horses, there are four brick barns with 32 stalls, an office and lab space, as well as a 10-stall quarantine barn.
The Waldrep family also added a covered riding are- na to benefit the training of their horses.
They detailed that the grounds have even more to offer than meets the eye and that overseeing the prop- erty from the balcony is breathtaking.
Inside the home, there are mahogany walls and ceil- ings, as well as carved brick wall murals of horses.
Seller seeks nearly $10 million at auction
“It’s so close to World Equestrian Center,” Elite Auc- tions CEO Randy Haddaway added. “For all of these people who are escaping the lockdowns, who are leav- ing the states with the high taxes and all those things that are going on throughout the country, Florida, I consider – and I know as a fact – is an inbound state.
“This is a golden opportunity for someone who wants to move their horses from New York or their horses from Kentucky or their horses from other lo- cations in the country to come down to some beauti- ful sunny weather.”
Haddaway’s company sells properties throughout the country and the world for “non-distressed luxury sellers who want to set a deadline” on their sale and bring market value in a timely manner.
While there are many waterfront homes for sale on the company’s website, the Ocala farm stands out as “one of the best horse property opportunities” Elite Auctions has marketed, Haddaway said.
While the property is listed at $9.95 million, bid- ders will get to name their price on the day of the no- reserve auction.
It will take place on Feb. 26 at 11 a.m. More infor- mation and registration information can be found online at eliteauctions.com/3707-nw-110th-ave-ocala-fl. The auction will take place live on site, or potential buyers can bid over the phone as long as a representative is on site to execute the contract.”
