Silicon Valley’s Grand Plan to Build a City From Scratch—And Why Locals Hate It
By Annalee Newitz
For years, a shadowy investment group called Flannery Associates quietly bought up vast stretches of farmland in Solano County, just north of San Francisco. Locals whispered about secret military projects or billionaire bunkers—until this month, when the truth finally came out.
The group, backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights like Marc Andreessen and Reid Hoffman, wants to build an entirely new city called California Forever—a community for 50,000 people (with ambitions to expand to half a million) plopped onto what is now empty fields.
On paper, it sounds like a bold solution to California’s housing crisis. In reality? It’s shaping up to be a vanity project for the ultra-rich, one that could suck resources from the region while offering little in return.
A Developer Who Knows Best (Or So He Claims)
At town halls across Solano County, California Forever CEO Jan Sramek—a former Goldman Sachs trader turned self-help guru—has been pitching his vision. But residents aren’t buying it.
When pressed for details—Where exactly will this city go? How will it handle water shortages? What about the already-gridlocked highways?—Sramek dodges. His go-to response? Trust me, I’ve done my homework.
“We know more about this county than any other developer,” he told reporters. “It’s easy to criticize. Harder to actually build something.”
That condescending tone hasn’t won him any fans. Neither has the fact that Flannery Associates is suing local landowners who refused to sell, accusing them of price-fixing.
A Utopia for Whom?
Sramek insists California Forever won’t be some tech-bro utopia. But the blueprint—a privately funded, master-planned city—sure sounds like one.
- It evokes Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, where industrialists flee to a hidden capitalist paradise.
- It borrows from 19th-century “garden cities”—idealized suburbs that, in practice, became car-dependent sprawl.
- And it ignores the real needs of Solano County, where locals struggle with water shortages, crumbling roads, and police misconduct—not a lack of luxury housing.
California’s Dark History Repeats?
There’s something eerily familiar about outsiders rolling in with grand plans for this land. Centuries ago, it was European settlers displacing Indigenous communities in the name of progress. Today, it’s tech billionaires treating rural California like a blank Minecraft canvas.
Solano County isn’t empty. It’s home to farmers, families, and generations of people who don’t want their lives upended so a handful of investors can play urban planner.
The Bigger Problem
California does need more housing. But building a privatized city in the middle of nowhere isn’t the answer. It’s a distraction from the real work: fixing zoning laws, investing in infrastructure, and ensuring communities—not corporations—get a say in their future.
Until then, California Forever isn’t a bold vision. It’s just another Silicon Valley power fantasy—one that risks leaving everyone else behind.