“Living in an abandoned ghost town, trying to bring it back to life” is the bio you’ll find if you look on any of Brent Underwood’s social media bios. And it’s not a metaphor.
In 2018, Underwood purchased the town of Cerro Gordo with hopes of turning it into a tourist destination. Underwood is an investor and always had his sights set on big real estate. In the past he had opened the HK Hostel in Austin Texas in a Victorian mansion. He enjoyed combining real estate off the beaten path with a cool history lesson. So when Cerro Gordo was listed, it was a no brainer.
Cerro Gordo was a bustling mining town in the 1800’s and had being abandoned by the 1950’s. Underwood beat out a number of hopeful investors with their process to honor the history of Cerro Gordo.
Since then, the process of restoring this town has inched along. The biggest hurdles being a 7 mile drive up a narrow and rocky mountain road, and of course, Covid.
He’s certainly made progress-and many fans-but the experience has not been free from hardship.
He heavily documents his adventures on YouTube. Take a look:
For more, The Tampa Bay Times produced a spotlight on his adventures here.
Photo by QKC