Starting in 2017, something mysterious was happening just 90 minutes northeast of San Francisco. A secret group had purchased about 60,000 acres of farmland, much of it in rural Solano County. Many feared it was a plot by the Chinese government to set up shop near Travis Air Force Base.
But as the New York Times' Conor Dougherty (who contributed to reporting on this story) found out, the truth was even stranger than the rumors.
“Like a lot of people, I was chasing cars and hitting locked doors like I always do,” Doherty said. “I got a tip from someone that behind locked doors these are the richest people in the world who are quietly buying all this farmland. Reid Hoffman, Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs' widow, and Marc Andreessen of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz were all involved in the case, some of Silicon Valley's biggest names. ”
There are other surprises as well. Within hours of Dougherty's big scoop, the mysterious company launched a website and publicly announced itself as California Forever, an ambitious plan to build a brand new kind of city for as many as 400,000 residents. I gave my name.
The proposed city would be built in rural Solano County, not far from Travis Air Force Base.california forever
Jan Sramek, 37, a Czech-born former Goldman Sachs trader and city builder, is trying to convince the public that his project is more than just a billionaire's oasis or the world's high-tech capital. future. His vision is to turn all this farmland into a walkable city in the mold of Savannah, Philadelphia, or New York City's West Village.
Click here to view related media.
Click to expand
“Instead of taking all the good-paying jobs that are being created in Northern California and sending them to Texas or Florida, let's create a place where we can send them to Solano County,” he said.
An artist's rendering of Main Street in a proposed new city for Solano County.California Forever/Cytolab Urban Studio
So how are such cities able to remain affordable for middle-class people? “By continuing to build over a long period of time,” Sramek said. “If you think about why places became unaffordable, it's because construction stopped.”
The fate of the project will ultimately be decided by Solano County voters this November, who must decide whether to overturn a 30-year-old law that limits room for new development. Let's just say that Shlemek's charm offensive has been met with a healthy dose of skepticism from many locals.
“It's going to be a total deadlock,” one man said at a public meeting about the proposal.
Two locals, Al Medovitz and Jeannie McCormack, were the last holdouts. Most of the neighbors sold to California Forever (for well above market value) but turned down millions to continue farming the 3,700-acre ranch that has been in Jeanie's family for more than a century. . “It was always scary to have developers come to us. [throughout] “That was my whole childhood,” McCormack said. “California was changing rapidly with farm development.”
Jeannie McCormack and Al Medovitz on their family farm. CBS News
Many of the neighbors who did not sell have been accused by California Forever of conspiring to raise land prices in the area (a charge they deny).
“Housing is important, there's no question about that,” Medovitz said. “But there's a proper way to do it.”
California Forever is sparing no expense in gaining support from county residents, but this could be the most expensive political campaign in Solano County history, according to Connor Dougherty of the New York Times. It is said that there is.
CBS News
“The idea that this technology money is going into exactly this type of brick-and-mortar store as an investment is a little strange to me,” Burbank said. Is that the only thing?” he asked.
“Everyone is going to think I'm crazy when I say this, but I don't think it's primarily about money,” Dougherty said. “I think many of our stakeholders are very frustrated that the pace of change in the physical world is far behind the pace of change in the digital world,” he said. “I believe that if we could redesign everything and not have to deal with all the inherited problems that come with cities, everything would be a lot easier.”
California Forever still has many hurdles to clear, some of which may prove impossible.
But Slamek insists the idea of designing and building a relatively affordable and walkable city in the nation's least expensive and car-centric state is actually possible. He says his company has the know-how, patience and (crucially) deep pockets to make it happen.
“Success to me is that in 10 or 15 years Solano County will be an incredible economic success story that people all over America are looking at and saying, “Can we replicate that here?'' ” Sramek said.
And does he see himself living there? “Yes, I'm moving into my first house!” he replied.
For more information:
Story produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: Ed Givenish.
