Is Polk County the next stop for Gov. DeSantis?

While some have speculated Gov. Ron DeSantis’ post- Tallahassee plans are focused on a certain white home on a busy avenue in Washington, D.C., there are reports out this week that he and his family are buying a house in Polk County.

According to the Lakeland Gazette, the governor, whose time in office ends in January after two terms, has placed an offer to buy a house in the county’s Mountain Lake community in Lake Wales. Several other publications in the state picked up the news, with DeSantis neither confirming or denying the potential move. 

The Business Observer asked the governor’s office Thursday about DeSantis' post-gubernatorial plans but did not hear back.

Mountain Lake is a residential community that, on its website, touts “Tradition. Privacy. Space.”

The community, which sits near Bok Tower Gardens and traces its history to 1883, features more than 125 historic and newer homes on 1,100 acres of parkland, the wevsite says. There is also golf club that traces its history back to 1915 and calls itself “exclusive but welcoming.”

On Thursday, Mountain Lake’s website showed nine houses listed for sale, ranging from a 4,926-square-foot six-bedroom house on 3.42 acres for $2.95 million to a 2,637-square-foot four-bedroom house on 2.1 acres for $849,900.

And if the governor’s preference is building from the ground up, there were two lots on the market as well. That option may not be available to him in Washington.

The broker listing the properties on the website say he is not permitted to comment on the listings or the community’s residents and directed calls to the community’s management.

Lake Mountain’s general manager did not respond to a call or email Thursday.

As for why DeSantis, a father of three, would chose Polk. It’s hard to argue with Mountain Lake’s beauty and it would be another stop in the state for the Jacksonville-born, Dunedin-raised native Floridian.

That and both Tampa International Airport — 69 miles from Lake Wales — and Orlando International Airport — 55 miles from Lake Wales — offer daily nonstop flights to Washington, D,C.