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Near Edgemont, South Dakota, hundreds of former military bunkers have been transformed into unusual private homes. The structures were originally built during the early 1940s as part of the Black Hills Army Depot, where more than 500 reinforced concrete bunkers were used to store military ammunition. Nearby, the town of Igloo once supported workers and their families with schools, medical facilities, and other services, but the military site eventually closed and the town became a ghost town. The buried concrete bunkers remained, later finding a completely different purpose.
Decades later, growing interest in off-grid living and emergency preparedness brought new attention to the abandoned structures. In 2016, part of the former depot was purchased and developed into Vivos xPoint, a community where people can lease bunkers and turn them into residences. Each bunker has a tunnel-like design, reinforced concrete walls, and a blast-resistant steel entrance. The interiors are initially unfinished, meaning residents must invest in insulation, ventilation, lighting, plumbing, and other features to make the spaces comfortable. “The earth surrounding the bunkers naturally buffers against extreme weather,” helping create relatively stable indoor temperatures.
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