Most people have heard of the particle accelerator built and managed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN, but may not have heard about the one built in Texas about twenty years ago. Now it is for sale for a mere $20 million, a steal considering it cost the American taxpayer $2 billion to build.
The sprawling complex built by the Department of Energy was sold in 2006 for $6.5 million to Pinnacle Group, a development company. The company planned to convert the complex to a massive data center.
The future of the project was put on hold and eventually shelved after the driving force behind the project, J.B. Hunt the owner of J.B. Hunt Transportation, died. In December 2006, six months after investing in the project, Hunt slipped on a patch of ice, hit his head, and died a few days later.
Hunt’s partners in the Pinnacle Group are handling the sale of the complex. The collider is still being marketed as a perfect location for a data storage center.
For the full article on the Hardon Collider and for photos of the complex, go to wired.com.
