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Photos: Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch Is Back On The Market
Neverland Ranch, the sprawling estate that once belonged to Michael Jackson, is back on the real estate market with a significantly lower asking price of $67 million.
The 2,700 acre property was originally going for $100 million last year, when it was renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch. Along with the name adjustment, current owners Colony Capital have also stripped the estate of many of its Jackson-era amenities like amusement park rides, exotic animals and the and the on-property emergency service Neverland Valley Fire Department, set up by Jackson to respond to injured children. But that’s not to say the holding is in shambles. According to a 2014 Forbes report, Colony Capital invested more than $50 million into the estate and it still boasts the standard amenities of extreme affluence: a pool, tennis courts, a lake, a dance studio, a guest house, a barn, a 50-person movie theater, plus a "Disney-style" train station to boot.
Jackson, who is known for having one of the most tragic childhoods in Hollywood history, named the Santa Barbara, County estate after the magical world in Peter Pan where kids never had to grow up. The singer filled Neverland with endless entertainment for visiting children and lived on the property from its purchase in 1987 to 2005, when he moved to his Holmby Hills home after his molestation trial. The stigma of the trial wasn’t Neverland’s only woe— loan troubles almost almost caused Neverland to be auctioned away after Jackson failed to pay a $24 million loan in 2008, but was ultimately sold to Colony Capital for $22.5 million in 2009.
The future of the property is up for speculation. It was optioned as a potential California State Park back in 2010, but was ultimately deemed to pricey of a venture. The name may have changed, the but Neverland clock topiary still remains a prominent feature and a quiet reminder of the King of Pop's reign.
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