A coalition of billionaires has shifted gears on their ambitious endeavor to create a brand-new city in California, opting instead for a different approach.
Initially, the real estate group, California Forever, envisioned constructing a fresh urban center in Solano County.
In 2023, they discreetly acquired land parcels under an alias, which sparked concerns and suspicion among the local population.
In response to the ensuing controversy, the consortium has decided to shelve their original blueprint and now plans to integrate their development with an existing city.
Jan Sramek, the 38-year-old CEO of California Forever, announced the revised strategy, aiming to expand from Suisun City, a small community with approximately 30,000 inhabitants.
Sramek has introduced a comprehensive 40-year vision to develop the city at its new location, northeast of San Francisco.
The project has drawn in high-profile backers, including LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, tech titan Marc Andreesen, and Steve Jobs’ widow and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs.
The latest plans will see Suisan City expand by 22,873 acres, including a 5,700-acre security buffer zone near Travis Air Force Base, reports Realtor.com.
A group of billionaires have scrapped their plans to build a new California city from scratch as they unveiled a new alternative – dubbed ‘California Forever’ (seen in a rendering)
California Forever CEO Jan Sramek, 38, has touted the proposed city as ‘the most walkable community in America’ and says it will come with an array of amenities
The consortium have lauded the plans for their new megacity, and have designated at least 20 percent of the city to parks, trails, ecological habitats and community gardens.
The city’s proximity to Travis Air Force Base sparked concern among some locals who feared the quiet purchase of the land could be related to a foreign plot, similarly to the Chinese government buying American farmland in recent years.
But Sramek said that the land was bought covertly because the group did not want speculators to drive up land prices in the area.
The latest plans have been signed off by military leaders at the air force base, who say that construction would not interfere with its military operations.
Sramek has touted the proposed city as ‘the most walkable community in America’, and says it will feature an entertainment district, a new shipyard, and a tech-focused hub.
He says the design will combine New York-style street grids, as well as city designs from Barcelona and Tokyo, to make the city easy to navigate.
‘Like California’s fusion cuisine, we drew inspiration from the best designs from across the world to create something delightful,’ he said in an X post.
He also says the city will be more affordable for many, and will utilize ‘a small parcel fabric where lots of people co-create a real city.’
The city is proposed for an area in Solano County, northeast of San Francisco
The group’s CEO says the design will combine New York-style street grids, as well as city designs from Barcelona and Tokyo, to make the city easy to navigate
Sramek says the city will feature an entertainment district, a new shipyard, and a tech-focused hub
‘We’re prioritizing homeownership and family-sized units,’ wrote Sramek.
‘We’ve designed for missing middle housing types where families can purchase homes.’
California Forever previously released renderings of the proposed city, which show an array of townhouses and gardens around the sun-drenched area.
Sramek said that the renderings are not intended to show exact designs of the homes, but intend to illustrate the layout of the city at-large.
‘The renderings are illustrative, and a pattern book is coming later,’ he said, per Realtor.com.
‘As with urban design, our goal is to combine the best of the old and the new, so stay tuned.’
