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Titan Missile Complex Up for Sale
ckeck writes "Take a look at this, some guy in Washington State is auctioning off a 'Titan Missile Complex' on eBay. I don't know if this is a fake auction or not, but I already talked to the gentleman running the auction on the phone and plan to take a visit to the complex! This would be an awesome place to live! Check it out here." Looks like he bought it in 1999.
According to the 1999 article, the original asking price was $300,000. The guy who bought it is asking $3,500,000. That's a bit of a markup, there.
It makes sense if he put a lot of money and time into renovating it; that's probably the case if there's someone currently occupying the property. (Which the auction hints at.)
In the UK The Bunker is an old nuclear shelter turned into a secure webhosting facility.
The guy who owns it wrote 'Stay Another Day' performed by East 17 and was a UK Christmas #1.
Fact.
No. This isn't about football.
Forget mapping it, actually play in it! That complex is just screaming out to be used as a paintball/laser tag arena. Imagine the orange warning lights spinning around and a computerised female voice 'Thirty seconds till missile launch' over the sound system.
Hell, with the strength of the pound against the dollar even I might buy it! $3,950,000 that's like, what, 2 grand of my money? (just getting one back for the Canadians)
Mother, do you think they'll like this sig?
But picture turning the top floor of the launch silo into a solarium. Remove the blast door and replace it with glass (it would probably have to be bulletproof to withstand the downward force from the snow in the winter). A little bit of remodeling and you have a perfect place to lie back and watch the sky).
If it's far enough away from civilization, you could also use the solarium for a decent telescope.
When the government was decomissioning its Titan missile program in the 1990s, it sold off a number of properties like this. For example, also in the Eastern Washington area, some private investors bought the former Titan facilities located above ground and are running it as an ultra-secure data center facility [titanone.com]. The owner group includes a couple of former Microsoft execs. (Insert your favorite security joke here.)
Some links for the interested:
A real estate agent specializing in Missile Bases
A virtual tour made by some tresspassers.
I was fascinated about the chance to own one of these properties. Doing some research, I found some ceveats though. First, the base had to be de-commissioned prior to 1965. After that, there were new treaties which required the complete destruction of the base after de-militarization. Second, being underground can lead to some health hazards, i.e. Radon. Third, missile bases aren't ever located in easy to reach places, and I like to be able to go to the store without a bunch of planning beforehand.
I'd still love to own this monstrosity though. The Titan 1 sites are the most elaborate and extensive. Kind of makes me sick to think about the money spent of this thing when it was built only to be decomissioned ~5 years later.
Often in Error, Never in Doubt.