Leavitt takes Harbour Island home off the market

Former University of South Florida football coach Jim Leavitt's $1.6 million Harbour Island home is off the market.

Leavitt put the 4,528 square-foot home up for sale shortly after he was fired by USF on Jan. 8, but he recently decided to keep his current address.

"You know, I kind of like the place,'' Leavitt said from San Diego on Friday. "I've had a couple of people show interest, but right now I plan to stay here, so I took it off (the market). I want to stay in the area and close to my parents. They are both in their 80s and it's important to me to stay close to them.''

According to the property listing, the home was built in 1991 and Leavitt purchased it in 2006 for $1.7 million.

Like many of his neighbors, Leavitt has discovered that the local real estate market for luxury homes remains stagnant.

In the past two months, three other homes in Leavitt's neighborhood have struggled to garner interest.

One of the homes, located at 926 Anchorage Road, had its asking price reduced by $240,000 on May 4. Another home, located at 919 Anchorage Road, was recently reduced by $155,000.

The home located at 904 Anchorage Road next to Leavitt's property remains unsold with a $1.4 million price tag, $200,000 less than Leavitt's was listed for on Trulia.com.

Since USF cut ties with him and hired Skip Holtz, Leavitt has kept busy visiting various NFL teams and attending several Pro Day workouts leading up to the NFL draft. On Friday, he arrived in San Diego to visit friends and was hoping to catch up with former USF linebacker Kion Wilson for dinner during his stay. Wilson recently signed with the Chargers.

Leavitt recently coached at an Under-Armour prep football clinic in North Carolina and was appointed a member of the inaugural St. Petersburg Sports Alliance by St. Petersburg mayor Bill Foster.

Leavitt continues to challenge his firing by way of a lawsuit he filed against USF in March. The next hearing is scheduled June 9. Leavitt's attorneys will present their case in Hillsborough County Circuit Court to make all material connected to the school's four-week investigation that led to Leavitt's firing public record.

The investigation concluded that Leavitt acted inappropriately by grabbing running back Joel Miller during halftime of the Nov. 21 game against Louisville and striking him twice in the face.

Leavitt maintains he did nothing wrong and is suing the university to recoup the majority of the $7.1 million remaining on his contract when he was fired.

"I want people to know what really happened, that's the biggest thing for me,'' Leavitt said Friday.