If you are tired of living above ground and having windows — well, now you don’t have to. A converted Atlas-F missile silo in York, Nebraska, once home to a thermonuclear warhead, is on the market for $550,000. (“A BLAST from the past and built to last!” per the listing.) The current owner has used what can only be described as a light touch in converting the Cold War–era silo into a residence. It’s listed as a one-bed, one-bath but is something more akin to a loft: a single, circular room 174 feet below ground containing a toilet, bathtub, twin bed, fridge, and microwave. No laundry — you’ll have to send out (up) for that.
Despite what you may think, the property is not unique, as silo-living has become a thing in the U.S. It’s hard to say whether interest has increased as we hit the gas on our way to democratic collapse and climate disaster (ha ha!), but the market seems steady: Every year or so, you see a new story about someone living in one. In April, a missile silo in Abilene, Kansas, a couple-hour drive from Kansas City, sold for $380,000. (Its owners had moved on to a different converted missile silo.) There are minimalist bachelor-pad silos and luxury silos. One couple renovated a silo into another kind of fortress — a castle. “Cozy decor and soft lighting could make you almost forget you’re underground,” Insider notes. (Almost.)
And for the paranoiac looking for more of a turnkey experience: Developer and prepper Larry Hall converted a silo north of Wichita, Kansas, into a 15-story luxury “Survival Condo” complex. It features 12 private units ranging in price from $1.5 million to $4.5 million each. All the units have already sold, and he’s currently working on a second silo development. “The same quality of condo in New York would have cost me the same, if not more per square foot,” one Survival Condo client wrote, “and you get peace of mind with this.”
