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You Can Buy This Nuclear Bunker For Less Than a Million Dollars

By
Jonathan Chew
Jonathan Chew
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By
Jonathan Chew
Jonathan Chew
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 5, 2016, 2:43 PM ET
Former Regional Government Nuclear Bunker Up For Sale
Padlocked gates secure the entrance to a former regional government nuclear bunker in Ballymena, U.K., on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. The property that was opened in 1990 and designed to accommodate over 200 people is being marketed by Lambert Smith Hampton.Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images

It’s underground, has no windows, and will protect you from a nuclear war. It is also yours for £575,000 ($850,000).

The property in question is a nuclear bunker situated at the edge of Ballymena, a town northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Built by the U.K. government in the 1980s during the Cold War, it is believed to be one of the last bunkers of its type still standing, according to the listing by agency Lambert Smith Hampton.

Former Regional Government Nuclear Bunker Up For Sale
A blast door. Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Former Regional Government Nuclear Bunker Up For Sale
Bunk beds stand in a dormitory room. Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Northern Irish Government To Sell Off It's Nuclear Bunker
The ladder leading to the outside world via the decontamination chamber. Photograph by Charles McQuillan — Getty Images
Photograph by Charles McQuillan — Getty Images

The 46,383 square foot-bunker contains 236 livable rooms and has two floors, one completely underground. Interested buyers will have to buy it from the Office of Northern Ireland’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister, who own the bunker.

The existence of the bunker wasn’t even widely known until 2007, as it was a state secret until the BBC unearthed it during a Freedom of Information Act filing on Northern Irish nuclear bunkers, reported News Letter.

Former Regional Government Nuclear Bunker Up For Sale
Chairs surround a table in the conference room. Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former Regional Government Nuclear Bunker Up For Sale
An ISDX telephone and data communications system sits on a desk. Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former Regional Government Nuclear Bunker Up For Sale
Manuals for [hotlink]Microsoft[/hotlink] Windows 3 computer software.Photograph by Aidan Crawley — Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg Bloomberg via Getty Images

According to the bunker’s real estate agents, there are dormitories, male and female bathrooms, commercial kitchen facilities, a BBC audio visual broadcasting facility, conference facilities, air filtration systems, conference rooms, decontamination chambers, plant rooms, and oil storage.

 

“This is an extremely rare listing and offers a unique opportunity for potential buyers,” Andrew Fraser, the firm’s surveyor, told The Irish Times. He said interest in the property is expected to be high and believes the bunker can be transformed into a tourist attraction or an emergency home in case of World War III.

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By Jonathan Chew
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