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The Business Of Luxury Bunkers

By Chris May

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Bomb shelters were a hot topic in the cold war 1950s.

Now it's a new age. Slick promotional videos show survival bunkers resembling 4-star resorts with movie theaters, computer lab, all underground.

Bill Craig of Logic Integration Inc. said, "They could live here and enjoy the facility, not just survive," whether it's a natural disaster or future terror attack.

"It was part of the selling point," said New Jersey resident Ralph Henrich. He paid to reserve space for his family of five in a 10,000 square foot luxury bunker that can hold 80 people. Built by a company called Vivos, the shelter resembles an apartment complex 65 feet underground.

"Leather sofas, high-end kitchens, comfortable bedrooms, artwork, a gym," said Henrich.

The price is $50,000 for adults, $35,000 for children under 16. That's approaching $200,000 for a family of four.

Henrich described how the bunker will have "two sources of water, two generators, two sources of food, the ability to grow food."

The shelter is in Indiana, but Henrich is prepared to travel from his New Jersey home to the shelter location.

"Am I looking forward to going there? Absolutely not," Henrich said. "But if I had to go somewhere, I would rather go to the Vivos location than a missile silo that's concrete and cold."

Several companies build luxury underground shelters for private homes as well.

Henrich calls his luxury bunker reservation his insurance policy.

"If you look throughout history, the people that have foreseen events have adjusted accordingly have survived and possibly thrived," Henrich said.

Vivos says it is building larger community bunkers in Kansas and upstate New York.

For more information, visit the following links:

http://www.terravivos.com/

http://www.risingsbunkers.com/

 

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