For sale: $6 millionWhidbey Island survival compound, stocked to withstand a pandemic

November 21, 2020 at 6:01 am | Updated November 21, 2020 at 9:42 am

For $6 million, one wealthy home shopper can buy some pandemic peace of mind in the form of a decked-out survival compound on a Whidbey Island bluff.

The 59-acre property, just north of Lake Hancock on Whidbey’s western coast, spans three densely wooded parcels. The residence has bullet-resistant walls, a safe room and an underground escape tunnel to the woods. A massive concrete tank holds 17,000 gallons of propane. In the 9,000-square-foot shop, three shipping containers are stocked with emergency supplies that can be supplemented by the huge, adjacent working farm.

“Toilet paper is hard to find. But there’s a lot of it there,” said listing agent Forbes Hansen. A video for the listing shows TP piled to the ceiling.

There’s also plenty of what an anxious prepper may want more than anything: Secrecy. The property listing doesn’t include an address, and Hansen said he plans to “find a buyer for this place and then terminate its existence from the internet.” (This article, presumably, does not serve that mission.)

The compound, owned by former PetSmart CEO W.R. “Ford” Smith II, according to public records, was “built to withstand a worst-case scenario,” Hansen said. Construction started in the early 2000s, but Smith only began stockpiling in earnest after 2008’s global financial crisis, he said…

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/for-sale-6-million-whidbey-island-survival-bunker-stocked-to-withstand-a-pandemic/?amp=1