What’s cooler than buying a home that was previously owned by Prince? Buying the late superstar’s home on Turks and Caicos. Last week, a North Carolina man achieved this coolness when he purchased Prince’s Providenciales property for $10.8 million.
Set on almost six acres, the estate now known as Emara is highlighted by a 10,000-sq. ft. main house that boasts six bedrooms and a movie theater adorned in the singer's trademark color. There's also a long purple driveway that leads guests from the home, past the tennis court, to a 200-foot private dock and two private beaches.
The new owner, private equity and investment firm CEO Tom Barnes, told the Wall Street Journal that buying Prince's Caribbean home was a "bonus" because he's a longtime fan of the Purple One.
Said Barnes: “If I could go back and tell that 10th grader that someday he’d buy Prince’s house, his head would probably explode.”
And because Barnes is renting the Emara Estate, he won’t be changing the color of the driveway since it will be a “significant pull” for new guests.
Prince purchased the property for $10.5 million in 2011, and over the next year he reportedly spent an additional $2.5 million on neighboring land for added privacy. The home was put up for auction last year, with expectations as high as $15 million, but it went unsold.
The purple touch is limited to the driveway and movie theater, as the house’s exterior design and interior rooms bear a closer resemblance to a posh Caribbean retreat than a rock star’s secluded getaway. Several thatched-roof cabanas are scattered across the property, while an elevated pool with jacuzzi offer an unobstructed view of the ocean.
