Mark Megahan
There’s a new $300 million “members-only luxury doomsday bunker” project underway, “set to revolutionize how the rich and powerful can shelter themselves in an apocalyptic disaster.” Called “Aerie,” it’s a co-op arrangement. As the name implies, one of the features is an illusion of space so inhabitants don’t feel claustrophobic while avoiding chaos far underground.
Bunker with a view
For $20 million per person, members with a share in the bunker have access to “robotic medical suites, lavish swimming pool, and fine dining restaurants.” The high-end underground fortress is scheduled to open the hatch in the summer of 2026.
No where near a basic underground shelter, it’s a “5-star survivalist experience.” There’s room for exactly 625 wealthy residents.
Aerie is only one bunker planned for development by the same investors, Strategically Armored & Fortified Environments. Eventually, it will “be part of a network of similar sanctuaries that cater to the 1%.”
It’s a trendy fad for those who don’t want to build their own, smaller facilities. The sales brochure invites members to take advantage of the “unique opportunity to safeguard their futures, no matter what disasters might lie ahead.”
Wealthy families are insisting on safe rooms and a bunker in the basement to shield family members. Limited size makes for a much less desirable situation for long term disaster shelter. Aerie, the developers insist, is “a far cry from the off-grid homesteads and stark nuclear shelters favored by traditional doomsday preppers.”
Being cooped up in cramped quarters with nobody but your own family could lead to psychological issues over the long haul.
Protection and luxury
Anyone who can afford it should consider the advantages their luxury bunker offers. “Where the more stereotypical preppers have vegetable patches and remote cabins, Aerie offers ‘AI-powered‘ medical care, ‘wellness programs,‘ and the promise to ‘blend protection and luxury‘ in a way that has never been done before.”
There doesn’t need to be a disaster for members to use the facility. “Members can hide away inside it whenever they feel their safety is threatened.”
The Virginia-based developer “specializes in secure property designs.” SAFE has racked up considerable acclaim for several unique designs, including one bunker “outfitted with a Formula 1 track.” Founder and president Al Corbi claims “the underground hideaway will transform the high-end security space.”
SAFE’s director of medical preparedness, Naomi Corbi, relates “they will be offering four tiers of memberships.” Any “moderately successful CEO” can afford the basic plan. For those with more gold in the vault, “a secretive top tier known as the ‘Asylum Membership‘ will be by invite only.”
The first in a series of nationwide bunker complexes will open up in Virginia, “just outside of Washington, DC.” They plan to sign up a bunch of government officials. The designer is quick to note that placing the first one there was purely “strategic,” and “was not in any way motivated by the changing political landscape.”
Money was the real motivating factor in bunker placement. “It’s coincidental, but it’s the wealthiest state per capita. It’s ground zero for the finest demographic for something like this in the world.“
