KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. — There's real estate, and then there's unreal estate.
The Evergreen Crystal Palace nestled high off Table Rock Lake is one of those homes. Built in the 1990s for Robert Plaster, the founder of Empire Gas, the 30,000 square foot home boasts a 20-plus-car garage, 14 bedrooms, a helicopter pad, and a shooting range. And that's just the beginning of the wow factor.
"The house is like frozen in time from the 1990s," said Ken Coleman, a long-time real estate agent in Southwest Missouri. Coleman said he was brought out of retirement to sell the expansive $80 million home for the Plaster estate. He said the family is selling off all of their big properties after Steve Plaster, the trustee of the estate, had a health scare.
The house recently went viral on YouTube after an influencer named BigBankz posted a home tour on the site. The poster said he's just a kid traveling the globe to some of the coolest abandoned places. The video of the Crystal Palace has 1.5 million views.
"This is definitely the number one, most crazy place we've ever explored," said the poster shooting a selfie-style video in front of the entrance.
Coleman said that was his idea. He said he invited the influencer to take some video and post it in hopes of gaining some interest in the property.
"The great part of it is that the children of wealthy people saw the video and sent it to their mom and dad," said Coleman. "My phone had 68 phone calls on it the next morning after the video launched."
Coleman said Plaster wanted to build the property after someone jokingly called him a hillbilly — he built the space in the hopes of impressing any businessperson from around the globe who would want to do business in the Ozarks. Coleman said he couldn't name names, but he said one of the biggest names in American politics had visited recently and called it the best view of the Midwest.
Later he mentioned the top floor of the home would be suited for someone like President Donald Trump, with its 3,000 square foot primary bedroom complete with a baby grand piano and private stairwell. The home is also outfitted with individual offices that overlook the lower floor for entertaining.
Though the home is dated with salmon-colored furniture and Italian green marble, the finishing touches would be hard to replicate today. Each bedroom also has its own theme adorned with art from around the globe. Most of the art will be sold with the home.
"It was the best money could buy at the time," said Coleman.
This time around, you could be invited to stay as well. Coleman says he's had a handful of potential buyers, and he's pitched creating the space into a corporate retreat. He says gone are the days of the country clubs. He says corporate retreats are more appealing, especially in a pandemic.
"You know, you have a jewel in the state of Missouri, and Missouri doesn't know about it," said Coleman. "A lot of people have seen this house from a distance, but they've never had a chance to be in it. Something good needs to happen with this property that's [also] good for Missouri."
Coleman says the proceeds of the home will go towards a number of colleges.