Tech Billionaires Plan to Build Brand New City Near San Francisco
Over the past five years, a company known as Flannery Associates has invested $800 million in the search for land near San Francisco, without disclosing its motivations and sources of funding. According to a report by The Verge, this enterprise is backed by a group of prominent technical leaders who hope to utilize the land for the creation of an entirely new city.
Reports indicate that among the individuals involved in this project are LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, investors Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon from Andreessen Horowitz, former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, Emerson Collective founder Lauren Powell Jobs, and other notable technical leaders and investors. Flannery Associates is led by Jan Sramek, a former trader from Goldman Sachs.
Recently, Flannery Associates began conducting surveys among residents of the Solano district, situated northeast of San Francisco, where their land parcels are located. The survey aimed to gather opinions on plans for constructing a "new city with tens of thousands of houses, a large solar farm, fruit orchards with millions of trees, new parks, and open spaces."
The company has already acquired over 21,000 hectares of land for the project, most of which is currently used for agricultural purposes. However, the project faces a significant challenge in terms of zoning. Much of this land is designated for agricultural use rather than residential development. This means that Flannery Associates will need to navigate a process of rezoning, which is a complex task in California. It appears that the company intends to bring the matter of rezoning to a vote next year in the district, in an effort to advance the project.
As for the motivations of the investors behind this endeavor, there remains some ambiguity. Nonetheless, at least one investor, Michael Moritz, described these efforts as an attempt to escape the issues faced by San Francisco. Prominent tech leaders have criticized the city's administration for problems such as crime and homelessness, despite the technology industry playing a role in exacerbating the affordable housing crisis in the city.
Other tech leaders have previously attempted to establish their own cities in order to relocate to more favorable environments or support their businesses. For instance, Elon Musk and Larry Ellison have purchased land parcels to create specialized communities - Musk for Tesla and SpaceX employees outside of Austin, Texas, and Ellison for his affluent friends in Hawaii.