SOLANO COUNTY, Calif — Investors of the mystery group who have been buying up land in Solano County were identified as multiple Silicon Valley billionaires by a consultant representing the company.
Flannery Associates LLC purchased more than 50,000 acres of land throughout Solano County, including surrounding Travis Air Force Base, and spent over $800 million to do so.
The company has been shrouded in secrecy since 2018, being established in late January of 2018 and buying its first piece of Solano County just ten days later.
The thing is, no one knows who they are — but now some light is being shed.
Brian Brokaw, a Sacramento-based public relations consultant, says he represents Flannery Associates LLC and members investing in the company such as: Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and founder of the Emerson Collective Laurene Powell Jobs, among others.
He told ABC10 the group believes Solano County and California’s “best days are ahead” and wants to create something new.
“We are proud to partner on a project that aims to deliver access to good-paying jobs, affordable housing, clean energy, sustainable infrastructure, open space and a healthy environment to residents of Solano County,” said Brokaw. “We are excited to start working with residents and elected officials, as well as with Travis Air Force Base, on making that happen.”
He says Flannery Associates was planning to start conversations next week — more than five years after starting to buy up land.
It’s something Congressman John Garamendi, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, says he’s still deeply concerned about.
“We have no idea what their intention is other than to build a mega city,” he said. “It's good to know where the money's coming from, but this story is not over.”
He says he’s concerned about national security since some of the land bought by Flannery surrounds Travis Air Force Base, often called the Gateway to the Pacific due to how much cargo and passenger traffic runs through its aerial port — more than any other military air terminal in the country.
“They could build facilities there that encroach upon the safety of the operations, as well as the electronic communications radar and other,” said Garamendi. “We do know that that is possible… I remain very concerned.”
Travis Air Force Base officials say they're aware of the land purchases and are working together with investigating agencies. Their full statement to ABC10 is below:
"We can confirm that base senior officials are aware of this land acquisition and are actively supporting all involved federal and Solano County agencies. We are unable to provide any specific information regarding land acquisition outside installation property. Please contact the U. S. Department of Treasury for more general information regarding land acquisitions and proposals in close proximities to U.S. Air Force bases."
Residents began receiving a survey to ask about their thoughts on the proposed project with “tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar farm, orchards with over a million trees and over 10,000 acres of new parks and open space.”
Garamendi told ABC10 he originally thought the money could be from China, but he isn’t sold they don’t have a hand in the funds.
“Where's this money coming from? Well, we know a few folks in Silicon Valley but the real question is who's controlling the money?” he said. “I want to ask him some questions.”
