BUNKER DOWN
Man is transforming Cold War site into EV charging station, lounge
Jonathan Shinn leads a tour of an underground former Cold War communications vault June 19 in Baker, Calif.
A structure atop an underground bunker, center, is surrounded by solar panels that generate power for an electric vehicle charging station, far left, on June 19 in Baker, Calif.
Solar panels that generate power for an electric vehicle charging station are seen in Baker, Calif.
Shinn leads a June 19 tour of his electric vehicle charging station in Baker, Calif.
BUSINESS
The walls are covered in graffiti, some glass is shattered and most of the cop-per is gone. Yet, about 20 to 30 feet below ground in this Cold War-era bunker in the middle of the California desert, Jonathan Shinn envisions a modern twist for the hidden relic: a lounge for EV drivers.
Shinn, founder of PowerStation Charging, purchased this remote site along Interstate 15. He installed an electric-vehicle charging station and a field of solar panels to power it, and he wants to turn the bunker into a spot where drivers can kick back while their cars juice up.
Relic of another era
Shinn, 39, a San Diego-area resident, set out to open four solar-powered EV charging stations in Southern California. Closer to Las Vegas, his property is just off the Rasor Road exit on I-15, about 13 miles southwest of the main commercial drag through the pint-sized town of Baker.
The 10-acre plot in San Bernardino County has more than 1,000 solar panels in place and a charging station that can feed power to four cars at a time.
The property also has a small above-ground building that looks like a storage shed, with no visible clue as to what's below.
Shinn said the underground bunker spans more than 8,000 square feet and was built in the 1960s. It was a communications facility — and, he said, designed to survive a nuclear blast 15 miles away or some other aerial bombardment.
It still has remnants of the old days, including a decontamination shower, motors, shredded lines of copper, control-pressure gauges, a heavy vault-like main entry door, and a 1963 inspection stamp from I-T-E Circuit Breaker Co.
'Conversation piece'
AT&T previously owned the site, though property records don't show when it acquired the plot. The telecommunications giant did not respond to a request for comment.
AT&T sold the site in 2006 to investor Gil Stoffels of Portland, Oregon, according to property records and business-entity filings. Stoffels sold the property in 2016 but reacquired it through foreclosure in 2018, property records show. In 2024, he sold the site to Shinn for $450,000.
Stoffels said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the bunker, noting it was a "good conversation piece."
He charged a $1,000 "showing fee" to serious would-be buyers.
When he bought the property, he had no particular plans for it.
"In hindsight, I should have made it a museum because it was fully functional," he said. "It was heartbreaking to see it get vandalized."
Vandalism extensive
Stoffels said the bunker was vandalized a few times while he owned it. He once encountered a few people at the property, including someone who was inside.
Baron Castillo, who brokered the sale to Shinn, said there was paperwork all over the place when he visited the bunker. He also said there was a lot of graffiti — and people sprayed even more after he listed the property for sale.
Castillo, owner of real estate firm Apartment Building Investments, has listed burned-down gas stations and other unusual properties but the bunker stands out. "This is up there," he said.
Shinn said he added a secured entrance to the building above the bunker after he bought the site; before that, anyone could walk in. He said he sent a crew that hauled out a dumpster-sized volume of trash.
The vandalism was extensive. The bunker was smothered in graffiti, equipment was busted, and, according to Shinn, vandals took "pretty much all the copper," even using a torch to get some out.
Building it out
Shinn installed security cameras inside and out and wired the bunker to have some lighting. He plans to install another 500 solar panels outside and six more EV charging ports.
He put the total cost of the build-out at $4 million to $5 million but said this would drop to the $3 million-range after accounting for federal tax credits.
Shinn said he opened PowerStation Rasor Road in the first quarter of this year and it's logged more than 1,000 charges. So far, drivers charged up for free, as Shinn said he wanted to make sure the systems run smoothly, but he noted the pricing will start in August.
As for the lounge, he plans to offer prepackaged snacks and drinks and possibly charge a flat entry fee. He also said it would have cameras and a secured entrance. He figures he'll send workers to clean the restrooms and restock the food, but otherwise, it won't be staffed 24 hours a day.
He plans to keep much of the graffiti intact, viewing it more as artwork than vandalism. Above all, he wants to keep the industrial-bunker feel of the place.
He figures the novelty alone would draw plenty of drivers along the heavily traveled route between Las Vegas and Southern California. "People will actually want to come and see this," he said.
