Want a ready-made EHS "White Zone"?
A previous auction to sell Sugar Grove Station, a 123 acre town within the National Radio Quiet Zone in West Virginia where the use of wireless technologies is severely restricted, fell through when both the winner and the runner-up defaulted on their bids.
The town is back on the auction block, and while it would seem to offer a ready-made solution for a consortium of (admittedly wealthy) electrosensitive buyers, it's definitely a case of caveat emptor, due to:
- Extremely high annual running costs
- Asbestos being present in some of the buildings
- A likely rival bid from at least one organisation
- The risk that the National Radio Quiet Zone may be done away with, if the telescope is no longer required
Still, perhaps where there's a will, and at least one very healthy bank balance, perhaps there might be a way.
There are some excerpts from recent press coverage below.
For Sale: 123-Acre Mountain Retreat With a Secret Code Name - Wall Street Journal, 31st October 2016
U.S. Navy’s former eavesdropping enclave seeks buyer; cellphone dead zone
Sugar Grove, an 80-home former naval base nestled on 123 acres in the rolling hills of rural West Virginia, is a self-contained community with tennis courts, a baseball diamond, and its own water and power systems...
...One small complication of the compound’s snooping past: cellphone coverage ranges from spotty to nonexistent. The facility is situated inside the 13,000 square-mile National Radio Quiet Zone, where interference from electromagnetic waves, like those emitted from phone towers and radio transmitters, is severely limited or blocked...
...Diane Schou, who lives in the area, toured the facility on behalf of two investors interested in converting it into a haven for so-called wi-fi refugees. Some, like herself, say they get physical symptoms from being around certain types of technology. The condition is known as Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome, although it isn’t recognized as a medical diagnosis by the World Health Organization.
Sugar Grove “would be a great place for people to come and heal,” said Ms. Schou...
Former spy town is back on the block and priced to move - Work It, Lynchburg, 24th October 2016
Election got you down? Looking for a quiet retreat in the middle of nowhere?
The General Services Administration may have just the spot for you.
Sugar Grove Station, a former U.S. Navy base in West Virginia, could be yours for well, you name the price.
That’s right. The property, which includes 80 single-family homes, is back on the market after an earlier effort to sell it fell short when the bidders couldn’t make good on their $11.4 million offer.
Don’t let the price tag discourage you. Unlike the last round where the government required a minimum bid of $1 million, they’ve set no minimum in this case. That’s right folks, Sugar Grove is priced to move.
This time, GSA will sell the property via sealed bid process. Bidders are asked to mail in their bids and a deposit equal to 10 percent of their full bid price. All bids will be opened at 1 p.m. EST Dec. 1...
Open house this week at Sugar Grove property; Pendleton BOE still looking for help with sale delay request - WV Metro News, 24th October 2016
PENDLETON COUNTY, W.Va. — Potential buyers of the former U.S. Sugar Grove Naval Station property in Pendleton County will tour the site during a Wednesday open house from the General Services Administration.
Sealed bids and ten percent deposits for the property, the second attempt to sell its 123 acres at auction, are due on Dec. 1.
The Sugar Grove facility in Pendleton County had been home to a Navy Information Operations Command base up until Sept. 30, 2015.
Members of the Pendleton County Board of Education, though, are still seeking help from West Virginia’s Congressional delegation and at least one member of the Legislature in getting that date pushed back until after new officeholders take their seats in the New Year...
Comments
Post a Comment