Historic Cold War bunker sold for $31K in Truro

An underground bunker built near Truro to protect political leaders in the event of a nuclear war was sold Wednesday at a tax sale.

The massive concrete underground structure was built to withstand the aftermath of a nuclear attack.

It became known as the Diefenbunker because it was part of a national defense strategy ordered by the Prime Minister of the day, John Diefenbaker.

The bidding for the Debert Bunker came down to two men. In the end Jonathan Baha'i scooped the property up for $31,300.

He said he plans to operate a data centre at the site.

"The foundations of the bunker and its history were built out fear for the future. I'm hoping to build something that will bring hope for the future. Data centre services are certainly a part of it, but I'm not entirely married to the idea," he said.

The previous owner, Anton Self, failed to pay his municipal bills.

Mayor Bob Taylor said he was glad to see someone new take ownership.

"The taxes fell in arrears and that's why it's here. There were quite a few issues over water supply and so on. There were a number of services that were provided that were never paid for and they've been added to the bill of course," said Taylor.

Turning the Debert Bunker into a legitimate work site will take some money and effort.

The bunker was built in the 1960s. It was one of seven bunkers built across the country to house high ranking military and government officials in the event of a nuclear attack.