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Neverland to be turned into amusement park

The Sycamore Valley Ranch Company — a company started by Colony Capital and Michael Jackson to save Neverland from foreclosure last year — has decided to turn the late singer’s 2,676-acre ranch into a museum, amusement park and concert venue, according to the New York Post. Jermaine Jackson and Colony Capital say it may even be open to the public by Christmas. Developers lodged an application last month at the US Patent and Trademark Office on August 12 for the property, which was known as Sycamore Valley Ranch before Jackson bought it in 1987. He lived at the estate for almost two decades, but left in 2005, never to return. A Jackson family source told the paper: “This is important to Jermaine — he is really pushing for this. He has a big vision for Neverland as a museum, tourist attraction and concert venue. He wants to put a headstone at the base of the tree that Michael liked climbing — which was his favorite spot. Colony Capital wants to open it up as early as the Christmas holidays and no later than February, but the two obstacles will be the county and the Jackson estate.” Many of the neighbors don’t want a Graceland-style park bringing crowds to their quiet country neighborhood, including Elizabeth Farnum, who lives five miles up the road. “I’m pretty sure anyone who lives on the road would say that, that it wouldn’t be a popular idea,” she told the paper.