A Lake County Commissioner and his brother have purchased a defunct Badcock Home Furniture store in Sumter County for over $2 million.
The shuttered furniture warehouse at 421 W Belt Avenue in Bushnell was sold by NNN Reit, LP to 711 Santa Cruz, LLC for $2,100,000 on December 20, 2024, according to a deed filed with the Sumter County Clerk of Courts on January 6, 2025.
While NNN Reit, LP was formerly known as National Retail Properties, LP, according to state corporate records, 711 Santa Cruz, LLC, is owned by Timothy “Tim” Morris and his brother, Ronald “Ron” Morris. The company has an address registered in Howey In the Hills.
According to Sumter County property records, NNN Reit, LP purchased the property from W. S. Badcock Corporation for $2,069,800 on March 28, 2022.
Tim Morris was elected to the Lake County Board of County Commissioners during the most recent election cycle in 2024. A resident of Leesburg and graduate of Leesburg High School, Morris is the Vice President of Ernie Morris Enterprises, Inc.
That organization, which was founded by his father, Ernie, bills itself as one of the “largest educational furniture dealers in the southeast,” according to its website.
In addition to his roles in business, Morris also served for over two decades on the Board of Directors of the LifeStream Behavioral Center, a local health and social services organization that provides inpatient and outpatient treatment and case management.
The Badcock location in Bushnell officially closed last year amidst a wave of national closures in light of its parent company, Conn’s HomePlus, filing for bankruptcy.
Local Badcock Furniture stores in Leesburg, Belleview, and Ocala, and a Conn’s HomePlus in Ocala have all permanently closed in the past several months.
In November, Ocala-News.com reported that Royal’s Furniture had taken over the former Badcock locations in Belleview (10737 U.S. Hwy 441) and Ocala (2211 SW 19th Avenue Road).