[ad_1]
A historic cattle ranch in California’s Solano County has been a target of a secretive billionaire-backed group that’s been buying up large swathes of land to create a new city northeast of San Francisco. The latest offer of $17 million, made in mid-July, by Flannery Associates LLC was for about 950 acres at a property known as Petersen Ranch, according to term sheets, proposals and emails obtained by Bloomberg News via the California Public Records Act. It was turned down by the local water agency, which owns the land.
Flannery is backed by former Sequoia Capital Chairman Mike Moritz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, among others. The documents show that while some landowners in Solano County didn’t accept substantial offers by Flannery for their land, plenty did: The investors have purchased at least 52,000 acres of farmland since 2019.
The group’s existence and mission to build a city from scratch only became public in late August when the New York Times and other media exposed the identity of the investors and the scope of their project. Flannery has since revealed a new website explaining the vision of California Forever – a walkable city powered by green energy that will create thousands of jobs – along with plans to start engaging with public officials and the community.
The documents obtained by Bloomberg also show that Flannery went to great lengths to hide the identity of its owners.
Flannery is backed by former Sequoia Capital Chairman Mike Moritz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, among others. The documents show that while some landowners in Solano County didn’t accept substantial offers by Flannery for their land, plenty did: The investors have purchased at least 52,000 acres of farmland since 2019.
The group’s existence and mission to build a city from scratch only became public in late August when the New York Times and other media exposed the identity of the investors and the scope of their project. Flannery has since revealed a new website explaining the vision of California Forever – a walkable city powered by green energy that will create thousands of jobs – along with plans to start engaging with public officials and the community.
The documents obtained by Bloomberg also show that Flannery went to great lengths to hide the identity of its owners.
[ad_2]
Source link