Plum Island, an 843-acre island off the Hamptons, features miles of beach, acres of greenery and a lighthouse. The only drawback? The island is contaminated with foot-and-mouth disease. Plum Island (pictured) was the only legal research site for foot-and-mouth disease from 1955 until 2008, when Congress authorized the DHS to find a new site. Since then the government has been trying to unload the property. Donald Trump even considered buying it in 2013. The stigmatized property, set to go to auction, could be stripped, remediated and converted into a luxury retreat, real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller told NPR. He believes the island could be worth as much as $1B. In 2013, the island was turned into a "research district," meaning that any projects built on the island would have to contribute to research or education. A few ideas developers are tossing around include a Google Island or an Apple Island. [NPR]
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