While the cost of buying a cottage in Ontario’s Muskoka region or B.C.’s Okanagan Valley can easily set you back a cool million, those in the market for a vacation property could snap up a unique igloo in Anchorage, Alaska, for a modest US $300,000.
The misshapen structure—it looks more like it should be set on the planet of Tantooine—was built from a shell of plywood and stands 80-feet tall. The igloo has long been a must-stop for curious tourists enroute to Alaska’s Denali National Park. According to the Associated Press, this unusual structure “has never been anything more than a magnet for cameras and vandals, who set off firecrackers in its cavernous interior before it was boarded up.”
While $300,000 is chump change for a cottage, buyers beware—it’s in need of some serious work. According to tech-blog Gizmodo, the igloo isn’t in a liveable—currently there’s not even electricity supply. Built in the 1970’s, the plan was for the igloo to function as a hotel, however, the building was never completed.
Brad Fisher has owned the igloo since 1996 and believes there’s potential for the clapped-out structure to be resurrected into a hotel. The building is 20 miles from the town of Cantwell, and surrounded by snowmobiling country, so it could be enjoyed year-round.
While a “For Sale” sign has stood outside the igloo on and off for six years, Fisher tells the Associated Press that he has no plans to demolish it, adding: “It sure would be a shame to see the igloo go to waste.”
If guests pay to stay at Quebec’s Ice Hotel, why not a giant igloo?
(Images courtesy of the Associated Press)
