In a former Army munitions depot outside Edgemont, South Dakota, rows of concrete bunkers with steel blast doors sit across the Black Hills landscape, forming a survival community called Vivos xPoint. The complex contains 575 bunkers originally built in 1942 to store bombs and other military munitions. According to the South Dakota Supreme Court, Vivos later acquired the property and began marketing the structures as survival shelters that could be purchased or leased and converted into living spaces. Leases have cost residents tens of thousands of dollars upfront, with some paying as much as $55,000 for a 99-year term. The company markets the community as a place where people can prepare for catastrophic events. But years after residents moved in, the development has become the subject of multiple legal disputes involving leases, community rules, evictions and conflicts between residents and Vivos personnel. This unusual community's struggles highlight how ambitious survivalist ventures can encounter unexpected legal, social and interpersonal challenges that ultimately overshadow their original protective purpose.
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