$85,000 Underground Survival Shelter Has TV, Kitchen, Jacuzzi

The demand for survival shelters is now so great that a Los Angeles area businessman is making a good living building custom shelters for well-heeled professionals.

Ron Hubbard of Montebello, Calif., is building shelters that have all the comforts of home including television, reported CBS News. Business is booming.

Hubbard’s creations are definitely not your father or grandfather’s bomb shelter. They look more like small homes and come complete with leather sofas and 50-inch flat screen TV sets.

“It’s got everything a house does. It’s just 20 feet underground,” Hubbard said. Hubbard charges $85,000 for each shelter. Larger and more elaborate shelters presumably cost more.

A swimming pool, too

Hubbard’s shelters are more like the secret hideout of a James Bond villain than a cold war or World War II-era bomb shelter. Instead of a bare concrete bunker he gives his customers wood floors, a kitchen and bathroom, and even amenities such as swimming pools.

How to be Self-Sufficient When The Unexpected Happens

Some of the other amenities in the shelters include:

• Jacuzzis.
• Game rooms.
• Big luxury bedrooms.

The bunkers are basically tunnels that Hubbard buries right underneath his clients’ homes. The homes aren’t in the middle of nowhere, and most of them are right in the middle of Los Angeles neighborhoods like Brentwood, Bellaire, Beverly Hills and the Valley. Few of Hubbard’s shelters are being built in rural areas or at farms.

Well-heeled professionals preparing for collapse

Hubbard’s customers appear to be affluent, urban and well-educated.

“I thought there would be some loony tunes that would show up,” Hubbard said. “But no, these are professionals.”

Hubbard didn’t reveal if any celebrities or movie stars had bought his shelters, although he did introduce CBS News’ Carter Evans to one customer who recently purchased an $85,000 shelter for his LA-area home

“You gotta take precautions and you gotta look out for your family in the future,” businessman Robert Acosta said. Acosta paid $85,000 for his three-bedroom bunker.

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Acosta admitted that there are other potential uses for the bunker. The facility Hubbard has created includes enough space to serve as a guest room for Acosta’s relatives.

“When I have relatives that come visit, (I say,) ‘Sorry, I only have three rooms. We may have to put you in the bunker outside,’” Acosta said.

Market for survival shelters is booming

Said Evans, “These days the fear market is booming.”

Hubbard’s experience shows that large numbers of well-educated, highly paid and sophisticated city people are worried about terrorism and other threats. Hubbard told Evans that his customers are worried about biological warfare, chemical warfare, nuclear fallout, terrorism and attacks from China or North Korea.

Interestingly enough, many of the well-educated Los Angeles professionals are now worried about economic collapse and social meltdown. Hubbard said buyers mention these threats when they purchase such shelters.

It looks like a lot of middle and upper-class people are worried about catastrophes. They defy the standard, stereotype of preppers. They’re urban, well-heeled and many of them likely are politically liberal. More people than ever are worried about a dysfunctional society and a chaotic international political situation. Even many city folks are now taking serious precautions to protect their families.

But you don’t to be wealthy to be self-sufficient. Even if you cannot afford one of Mr. Hubbard’s shelters, you can grow a garden, procure a backup source of energy or store up food and other materials.