Source: Future of Neverland undecided

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 12 (UPI) -- The company that owns Neverland Ranch says the future of the property that once belonged to the late U.S. singer Michael Jackson is up in the air.

The unidentified source said Colony Capital LLC has yet to make an official decision about the 2,500-acre estate in Santa Barbara County, People.com reported Thursday.

"We are still doing renovations and rehabilitation to the property and I think it has a ways to go," the source said. "As far as I know, absolutely no decisions have been made about the property and there is no urgency to make any decisions."

The company shelled out $23.5 million for Neverland when it bought the property out of foreclosure in 2008.

The source told People magazine company officials were focusing their efforts on turning the former Jackson residence into a money-making venture.

"Even when Michael was alive, the primary goal was to figure out a way in which the property's value could be maximized by building his legacy," the source said.

The Santa Barbara Examiner reported on its Web site that Colony Capital executive Tom Barrack told people in Santa Ynez Valley late last week there were no plans to bury Jackson at Neverland or turn it into a Jackson museum akin to the late Elvis Presley's estate Graceland.

"According to Barrack, if he's speaking straight, and he appeared to be, he's going to turn around and resell it," Dorothy Alter, one of the area residents who heard Barrack speak, told the newspaper. "He has no desire to turn it into a Graceland, even though he's done his homework and he knows what Graceland makes. He said basically it's going to stay the same."

The Examiner said the next day sources familiar with the plans for the ranch forwarded a statement, saying, "We have no current plans for the property and we have not accepted or rejected any options."