Iconic music recording retreat sells for $32.5m

Caribou Ranch, located in Colorado, has been home to a whole host of stars seeking to lay down that elusive perfect track, from Elton John and Stevie Wonder to king of pop himself, Michael Jackson.

The retreat spans an impressive 1,600 acres and is located 10 minutes from Eldora Ski Area. It was always intended to be the ideal musical mountain retreat, ever since mproducer Jim Guercio snapped up the 4,000 acres between Nederland and the Indian Peaks Wilderness in 1971.

It was a success, attracting the brighest and best of the music through its doors and up to its mics. Every from Rod Stewart and The Beach Boys to Frank Zappa and John Lennon stayed in Jim's guest cabins or enjoyed his facilities, which included a riding area.

"The writing and recording that took place at the Caribou recording studio resulted in sales of over 100 million albums," Mountain Marketing Associates say in the listing. "The ratio of albums recorded here that charted or went multi-platinum was possibly the highest in the industry."

In 1985, though, fire damaged the estate, which left the recording studio closed and Guercio looking to sell of almost half of Caribou's original land to the city of Boulder (30 minutes away) and Boulder County.

"Several years ago, Boulder County Parks and Open Space acquired about half of the original ranch, ensuring perpetual open lands adjacent to Caribou Ranch, and reserving for the owner, access to a private trail system on the open space," Mountain Marketing Associates say in the listing for the property.

Nonetheless, the 1,600 acres are still in tact and even carry the potential for development rights, says the Denver Post: "A conservation easement protects and enhances the ranch while providing the opportunity to construct additional improvements in various locations and in a manner that respects the character of the land."

The pianos and other instruments - including those used to record Bridge Over Troubled Waters - will be donated to Colorado's Music Hall of Fame or put up for auction, notes Curbed.