I’m sure that’s happening in many locations but based on the information available right now this specific development looks to be a far cry from a “billionaire utopia.” Some millionaires may choose to live there but I really don’t see why a real billionaire would want to reside in such a development surrounded by densely packed masses of less wealthy people out in a miserably hot desert. There are planned to be almost 2000 housing units on this 600 acre development, along with roads, hotels, shopping and a lagoon, so the average lot size will be relatively small.
The majority of California billionaires live either in exclusive beach towns or in the Bay Area and I just can’t picture them flocking to this place.
Twenty years ago, I was working as a flood map analyst for one of the major title companies, and many Celebration properties crossed our desks. IIRC, it was a terrible spot to build in the first place, but they still got it approved.
You miss my point. The “designed from scratch utopian cities” are never for the billionaires. They are always about them feeling they can design a better world for their serfs by starting over. The entire history of “planned communities” is this.
It’s completely ecologically irresponsible. I can’t believe towns, cities and states are still allowing this kind of development, let alone the CA farmers…
Maybe this bit
Refers to the curiosity around how long people will survive in their particle board houses once the power grid goes down. Or how long they can survive on the puddle of brackish water the “lagoon” becomes…
It takes a lot of vaporators to farm enough moisture to fill a damn lagoon. Even Jabba, the richest guy around, didn’t seem to have the budget for a swimming pool.
Ha! I’ve actually been to some of the villages and abandoned sets in Tunisia that were used to film some of the scenes set in Tattouine.
It’s kind of hilarious to think of sending a bunch of pasty American retirees there to live out their golden years. Hilarious in a really sad way that’s likely to cause some natural mummification.
That’s basically what Palm Springs is already. I’ve had to go there a couple times and I absolutely never understood the appeal. But it’s not just a new phenomenon, since various celebrities who weren’t just in search of cheap land have had properties out there for many decades.
Edit:
I just looked up the average temperatures of Tozeur in the Tunisian desert. The average temperatures there in the summer are about 5 degrees cooler than the average temperatures where this new development is being built.
The story of its construction would definitely be a good inspiration for a horror film. Something where the builders slowly resort to cannibalism, are driven away by some Lovecraftian beasty in the jungle, or both.
Thanks, that was a fascinating read!
At first I was thinking, if you were complaining about a leak for months why wouldn’t you just fix it? Then I got to the part about how they aren’t allowed to touch anything on the exterior of their homes, not even a leaking roof! It’s insane.
And the fiscal irresponsibility of the financial institutions that allowed the company to drain so much equity from the property! Kind of makes me want to get into finance so I can use those ridiculous loopholes for good.
I mean geez if that’s the shot they picked to show the beauty of the area then just imagine what the crappy parts look like. There aren’t even any cacti to break up the scenery while you’re waiting to die of dehydration and heat stroke.
The disclaimer at the bottom of the development’s web page reveals that Disney are leasing out their name to these and any other corporations wishing to flog real estate. Just like the former guy did/does. Disney get their money upfront. Does/did their name ever have any value?
