An aerial view shows a two-lane road cutting through a parcel of land close to Travis Air Force Base that was recently purchased by Silicon Valley investors. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
A group of high-profile tech bosses quietly bought up thousands of acres of land north of San Francisco. Purchased under the corporate name Flannery Associates, seven Bay Area billionaires spent $800 million to scoop up the farmland in Solano County in the hopes of transforming it into a modern metropolis.
The utopia would be as walkable as Paris and create tens of thousands of jobs, according to a pitch from venture capitalist Michael Moritz, internal emails reviewed by the New York Times show.
Former investment banker Jan Sramek spearheaded the land-grab effort. An elite group of tech entrepreneurs and investors joined, including Andreessen Horowitz partners Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison, billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and Moritz of Sequoia Capital.
Flannery Associates told local lawmakers the investors hope to build between one and three cities on the land, according to San Francisco Chronicle reporting.
Most of the purchased land lies along Highway 12, a sparsely populated ranching area with few residences and buildings. The land acquisition included 140 properties and large swaths of commercial wind farms, energy infrastructure and conservation projects.
Scroll for more drone footage of the mysterious billionaire land acquisition in Solano County.
Cows graze next to wind turbines on a parcel of land in Rio Vista, California, that was recently purchased by Silicon Valley investors. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesA damaged gate hangs open along Flannery Road in Solano County. Silicon Valley investors are backing a company called Flannery Associates, which has been buying large parcels of land adjacent to Travis Air Force Base. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesMost of the land purchased by the Bay Area billionaires is currently used for agriculture. In this aerial view, a barn stands on a parcel of land in Rio Vista. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThe land acquisition included 140 properties, and Flannery Associates nabbed large swaths of commercial wind farms. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesA car drives on a dirt road next in Solano County, where tech bigwigs have invested in roughly 50,000 acres of land. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesHorses graze on a parcel of land in Suisun City, California, that was recently purchased by Silicon Valley investors. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesThere are few residential homes and buildings on the land parcels recently purchased by Bay Area billionaires. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesA sign stands next to a parcel of land in Rio Vista that was recently purchased by investors. | Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Editor’s note: Venture capitalist Michael Moritz finances The Standard.
Declining attendance has left congregations less able to help stem crises such as drugs and homelessness that disproportionately affect Black people in the city.
