As the spectre of nuclear war returns so does another very modern phenomenon: a spike in interest amongst the paranoid rich seeking to procure their own nuclear bunker.
Over in Texas – already home to a vibrant culture of ‘preppers’ who spend their time planning for every shade of apocalypse – one creator of custom shelters, Rising S Bunkers, says it’s had a 700pc increase in interest in the last month. Made from long-lasting plate steel, their bunkers are designed to be buried under the average American yard. Of the five units sold last month, the largest fetched $240,000.
If you don’t have space for your own bunker – or would rather shelter down amongst like-mined survivalists – there are other options. Self-confessed prepper Larry Hall has spent much of the past two decades turning a decommissioned missile silo in central Kansas into the Survival Condo: a cross between a nuclear shelter and a luxury hotel. The structure was built to withstand a blast 100 times stronger than Nagasaki.
As you might expect, a suite at the Survival Condo isn’t cheap. Half-floor apartments typically fetch $1.5m, while the jewel in Hall’s crown – a two-level, 3600 sq ft penthouse – went for $4.5m. When all the apartments are sold, the condo will be home to 57 different owners paying an annual ground-rent: essentially a timeshare arrangement for the apocalypse.
While the project has evidently been lucrative, it has required plenty of investment. Indeed Hall claims to have invested $20m of his own money in Survival Condo: including purchasing military-grade air filtration units (designed to supply the structure with de-radiated oxygen after the initial blast), destruction-proof geothermal wells, and numerous backup systems to provide power.
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