Neverland Ranch, renamed Sycamore after Michael Jackson’s death, his owner, that was once a fantastic amusement park for the King of Pop, is now on the market. Freshly renovated, but without the train rides, carnivals, elephant and orangutans that made it famous. Jackson named the property after Neverland, the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up. The ranch is estimated to be approximately 1214 hectares and it features about 22 structures.
Colony Capital, the real estate firm that bought the property for 23, 5 dollars rehabilitated it and is now looking for a new owner. Real estate experts analyzed the it and estimated that Neverland is worth about 50 million dollars, but the price the ranch was put on market is two times bigger.
Jackson purchased the property, in 1988 for a sum variously reported to be 16.5 to 30 million US dollars. He was 29 at the time. Until 2005, when he left it after he was charged with multiple counts of molesting a minor, it was his home and amusement park, having lots of amusement rides for children and grown ups. For example, the farm had a petting zoo, a carousel playing Michael’s own song, Childhood, a 50-seat movie theater, an ice cream cart Michael Jackson got from Elizabeth Taylor as a gift, a roller coaster, bumper cars, an arcade room, a train station and two trains, with a steam locomotive named Katherine after his mother and many others. The property also has a secrete room secured with three deadbolts, where Michael kept his most valuable items. The King of Pop was also an avid art collector.
Among the 22 structures inside the ranch is also a french country-style house, placed between the two lakes. With a surface of over 1100 square meters, the house is the main attraction of the place. The tremendous villa is known to have six bedrooms and attached staff quarters. There are also two- and four-bedroom guesthouses, a swimming pool, basketball court, tennis court and 50-seat movie theater with a private viewing balcony and a a stage that includes trap doors for magic shows.
Many of Michael Jackson’s Neverland treasures degraded from the lack of maintenance, since most of the staff left after the artist died (Michael himself abandoned it in 2005). They were replaced with rolling hills, man-made water features and lakes complete with swans and even a llama or two.
Some of the main attractions of the ranch, like the floral clock that spells Neverland in front of the house and the fire department preserved suspiciously well. The latter without, of course, the fire fighters.