We came across this earthen home near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. It’s under construction. We were so thrilled when we saw see a “For Sale” sign on the property. We thought “Hey, maybe it’s a sign! Is it meant to be?”
When we stopped to talk to the closest neighbor, he gave us the scoop.
The home is for sale because “Wild Bill” as he’s known by the locals, ran out of money after pouring over $1 million into it. It’s a bare shell, nothing more. It’s been on the market for over three years, and the property owners in this tidy subdivision near Williams Lake would be happy to see it blown up. They’d pay someone to bulldoze it if they could.
Looking at the sorry state of this property, one man’s earthship dream, got us thinking; maybe we don’t have enough money to be so green?
Looked at GoogleMaps for an idea as to where it is. Didn’t find it for sale (the last post was ’12 so it may be sold or demo’d) Anyone have a better description as to the location?
Roger, contact our realtor friends Mike and Marie and remind them of the earthship they showed us. They should be able to tell you where and if it’s sold.
It on Wildflower subdivision in Pagosa Springs colorado which about 8 miles north of highway 160 just off Pierda/County Road 600. And it for sake again
We drove by the property a few weeks ago while hiking the Piedra River area. It looked boarded up and abandoned, and really out of place relative to the homes near it. We figured there was a backstory, and wrote down the name of the subdivision as we drove by, hoping to research it later.
Awww what a bummer. Thanks for letting us know. We had hoped someone with more cash than sense would have bought it and made Bill’s dream a reality. So much for those earth ships. It’s not the first DOA earthship we’ve encountered. As far as we know, this earthship in Northern Colorado never found the perfect buyer either.
Yo I came across that house property in early 2000, On a backpacking trip in neaby wildneress. At that time the house was just being built. Its too bad someone with a VISION, And scence of architecture, and $$$ cant see it through to its final build. The house and site are perfect for that location and climate. All the other near by houses look like plain LARGE log cabins or MINI MACMANSIONS.
Oh wow, that’s so sad it was already vacant for 8 years when we saw it! I wonder how it’s doing now. Earthships are really cool, but as we learned, they have a high price tag in the end. I wish we had the $$ and oomph to build one for ourselves!
Hey Rogier, thank you for commenting. Great blog by the way, we will be following your earthship endeavors.
Of course an Earthship doesn’t have to cost a million bucks, you should be able to get one for a whole lot less…
Besides that.., I just read the “vision” of Earthship Biotecture and it is a wide one. Anyone should be able to build one, but if you deviate from the existing plans you do not necessarily deviate from the Earthship concept. In the end it’s more an ideal and a philosofie than merely a building. Live how you like, just keep it “green”…