“I’m not a full doomsday prepper, but I like the idea of being prepared for the unknown.”
Doomsdairbnb
A man in Arkansas turned a decommissioned missile silo into a lavish short-term rental property.
But whether it was a wise long-term investment remains to be seen. As owner GT Hill tells Business Insider, he bought the silo for $90,000 in 2010, and then spent a whopping $800,000 over ten years to convert the space into a unique rental experience.
“Probably 20 percent of my interest was in the doomsday prepper aspect or the idea of preparing to survive in the case of a catastrophe,” Hill wrote. “I’m not a full doomsday prepper, but I like the idea of being prepared for the unknown, including having food storage and some survival skills.”
The end product, dubbed Titan II, is a 3500-square-foot living space located in the middle of a 200-acre ranch and 150 feet below the ground. Hill says it’s already hosted famous YouTubers, bands, birthday parties, and “even some swingers.”
And in case the end of the world is nigh, Hill will have the ideal place to seek shelter for himself and his family — as long as it’s not already booked up, that is.
“Being underground the place is typically cooler than a normal living space but extra blankets are provided,” the Airbnb description reads.
Location, Location
The missile silo itself was decommissioned after Russia and the US signed a treaty in 1979 to limit their nuclear arsenals.
“They actually had to blow up the top of the structure and fill it in,” Hill wrote. “So it was an underground structure, but completely buried.”
The ten years of hard work Hill put into the property included pumping out a tidal wave of water that had accumulated in the space.
“The place had asbestos and methane gas at the top of the control center, where the crew quarters were,” Hill wrote. “I recorded videos of the whole process, and you can actually hear my voice change because of the methane in the air.”
“After spending $800,000, we’re probably netting $80,000 a year in revenue from the place now that I rent it out on Airbnb,” he added.
In short, “it’s not a great way to spend time or money,” Hill admitted.
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