Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 15
Jonathan Baha'i Turns 64,000-Sq-Ft Diefenbunker Into 50 Luxury Condos, Selling 11 Units
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 15

Jonathan Baha'i Turns 64,000-Sq-Ft Diefenbunker Into 50 Luxury Condos, Selling 11 Units

3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 15

Summary

  • A former Cold War bunker in Debert, Nova Scotia, is being rebuilt into 50 crisis-proof luxury condos, with completion targeted for early next year.
  • Jonathan Baha'i says rising global uncertainty and storm risk are driving demand; the off-grid complex will offer biometric access, 24-hour surveillance, medical services and food grown in an adjacent bunker.
  • The project has already sold 11 units, though purchase and rental prices remain undisclosed; when owners are away, units will be rented as hotel rooms and profits shared.
  • Baha'i bought the 64,000-square-foot site for C$31,300 in 2013 after earlier trying tourism and laser-tag uses, and now plans to add a 15,000-square-foot data centre and more than 40 hotel jobs.
  • Some local officials and museum advocates welcome the economic boost, but others say privatizing one of Canada's few remaining Diefenbaker bunkers limits public access to a historic site and may price out locals.

Insights

Will a Cold War bunker for billionaires bring prosperity to a small town or just price out the locals?
Does the rise of luxury doomsday bunkers signal a new era of privatized survival for the ultra-wealthy?
Can a billionaire's bunker secure its energy needs when the government is rejecting similar power-hungry projects?