Going underground: The subterranean doomsday village complete with golf course, spas, helipads and an equestrian center that's set to be built in Texas

  • Trident Lakes in Ector, Texas, will have enough room for 1,600 people in a doomsday scenario
  • The underground complex of bunkers is being billed as a luxury refuge for the wealthy 
  • Developers have plans to build white sand lagoons, spas, helipads and a DNA vault among condos 
  • Celebrities are among those to have expressed interest in the ultra-private $300million compound 

Advertisement

Detailed plans for a luxury underground doomsday village complete with golf courses and spas have been revealed in Texas. 

Trident Lakes is a $300million development in the small city of Ector, Texas, where investors are plotting to create the subterranean world over 700 acres of land. 

They plan to build enough bunkers for 1,000 people and accompany them with luxury amenities including an equestrian center, gun range and several white sand lagoons. 

The complex will be signposted above ground by a massive fountain with a statue of Poseidon towering 50ft in the air, making it visible from Highway 65.

Detailed plans for Trident Lakes, an underground doomsday village in Ector, Texas, have been revealed. They include three lagoons, a golf course, chapel, shopping center, equestrian center and rifle range 

Detailed plans for Trident Lakes, an underground doomsday village in Ector, Texas, have been revealed. They include three lagoons, a golf course, chapel, shopping center, equestrian center and rifle range 

Developers believe they have tapped into a gap in the market for wealthy Texans who are eager to prepare for the worst. 

'The initial perception is that it's defined as a doomsday scenario.  

'I'm trying to change the perception to a long-term sustainable community, with the concept of a 200-year community. 

'We're not looking at just putting all our residents underground; we're looking to put together a beautiful place to live that's also secure,' said James O'Connor, CEO of Dallas-based Vintuary Holdings, which represents the collection of investors backing the project.

'We think we have defined an untapped market,' he said.  

An 18-hole golf course, spa, gun range, zip line, shopping complex and restaurants are all part of the plans. 

Polo fields and a row of helipads will also be incorporated into the underground network of tunnels and roads as will a DNA vault where residents would later have the ability to 'replicate themselves', he said. 

Celebrities are among those to have already expressed an interest, attracted by the privacy and quietness the complex would provide, O'Connor said.  

The entire compound will be wrapped by a 12-foot wall and have private security manning watchtowers. The project has received the necessary approvals, O'Connor said, and people are expected to take up residence in 2018.

Developers intend to construct about 400 condos that have 90 percent of their living space underground. Most would cost in the mid-six figures and each topped with a terrace overlooking one of the lakes. 

The village will be built over 700 acres of land in Ector, north Texas (above) which is an hour's drive from Fort Worth - out of what investors called 'the danger zone' 

The village will be built over 700 acres of land in Ector, north Texas (above) which is an hour's drive from Fort Worth - out of what investors called 'the danger zone' 

James O'Connor, CEO of Dallas-based Vintuary Holdings, which represents the collection of investors backing the project, said they had tapped into a gap in the market 

James O'Connor, CEO of Dallas-based Vintuary Holdings, which represents the collection of investors backing the project, said they had tapped into a gap in the market 

Ector had a population of just 695 people at the last consensus. It is accessed from Highway 65

Ector had a population of just 695 people at the last consensus. It is accessed from Highway 65

The community could have as many as 1,600 residents who, should disaster strike, can rely on water and energy production that's off the grid. O'Connor said designs and concepts may change as the project progresses, but a navigable tunnel network and an air-purification system are planned.

As is a DNA vault. The vault is an opportunity for 'family sustainability,' said Richie Whitt, spokesman for Trident Lakes.

'You can take DNA and preserve it, where if something should happen, then technology down the road could take DNA and replicate a person,' he said. 'It's kind of science fictiony but it's also not that far in the future.'

Whitt said Friday that Vintuary Holdings has purchased land in Ohio for a similar community and investors hope to expand the idea to other states. He didn't provide further details.

It's not clear just how many similar bunker communities are open for business in the U.S. or other countries. The Vivos Group, based in California, has six in the U.S. and one in Germany.

Work has already begun on a giant fountain that will signpost the community from the highway for others to see

Work has already begun on a giant fountain that will signpost the community from the highway for others to see

It will include a 50ft statue of Poseidon and his trident and is likely to be one of the largest fountains of its type in the world
It will include a 50ft statue of Poseidon and his trident and is likely to be one of the largest fountains of its type in the world

It will include a 50ft statue of Poseidon and his trident and is likely to be one of the largest fountains of its type in the world, said investors

Above ground the area is quiet and bare, home to just some fields and trees. The project has been given the green light by local officials 

Above ground the area is quiet and bare, home to just some fields and trees. The project has been given the green light by local officials 

'It's definitely something, anecdotally, that we're seeing more and more of,' said Jeff Schlegelmilch, deputy director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University in New York.

The center works with an array of companies, groups, states and other entities to ensure a broad, comprehensive response when a natural or man-made disaster strikes. The concern for Schlegelmilch is that groups like Trident Lakes cut themselves off from that shared response.

'The aggregate of individual preparedness translates into greater community preparedness, and the aggregate of community preparedness leads to greater national preparedness,' he said.

But Whitt says Trident Lakes is pursuing a sustainable community that by definition means people must rely on one another. 

He says residents are wanted with a varied skill set so that in the aftermath of a disaster everyone can contribute with the recovery.

O'Connor adds that Trident will offer more than protection from doomsday fallout. Well known celebrities and professional athletes have expressed an interest because of the privacy and security it will offer, he said. 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.