Tenant move-ins should start in three months for both components. Owner Curtis Development has assigned leasing duties and technical retrofitting of the 35,000-sf bunker to Houston-based Jarvis Entertainment Group Inc. The bunker is being converted into a high-tech, data-security complex. Jarvis will handle all long-distance, Internet and network connections as well as technical issues for the office building.

The office building renovation began at the beginning of the year. The fortress-type building was constructed in the 1980s by Ling-Chieh "Louis" Kung, a wealthy Houston oil tycoon, nephew of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and direct descendant of Confucius. About 1 1/2 years ago, Curtis Development bought the property, inheriting a vacant office building. The bunker has two-foot thick concrete walls and heavy metal blast doors, designed to withstand a 25-megaton nuclear blast within a four-mile radius.

John Jarvis, Jarvis' president, tells GlobeSt.com the plan is to set aside about 6,000 sf in the bunker for operations, his firm's network and electronic file storage areas. The balance is being leased to companies seeking state-of-the-art, critical information storage. A biotech company, financial firm and energy company have reserved about 60% of the bunker space. It is commanding rates ranging from $20 per sf to $50 per sf.

According to Jarvis, the bunker will contain high-tech equipment, the likes of which is not commonly seen by the public. The self-contained facility will boast power circuit redundancies, battery backup, two diesel generators, dual air conditioning units and redundant fiber optic lines.

The office building features an Olympic-size swimming pool plus has a commercial kitchen, restaurant space, spa and health-food storefront. In essence, it stands as a testament to the developer's extravagance and fear of Red China and the former Soviet Union.

Kung was a Chinese diplomat in Washington, DC and later moved to Houston. In 1961, he founded the Westland Oil Development Corp. In the early 1980s, he relocated the operation to Montgomery and set about building the office complex. Kung lost title to the complex in 1987 during the oil industry bust, driving the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.