Since 2018, a shadowy company called Flannery Associates has been buying up land around Travis Air Force Base - so much land that it is now the biggest property owner in the county.
In July, the story went public when the Wall Street Journal published a report about how Flannery Associates has spent nearly $1 billion in land acquisitions in the county.
In a lawsuit the group filed in May, it accused a number of Solano County landowners of illegally colluding to drive up prices when Flannery came calling.
For reasons not explained by Flannery, it admits in the lawsuit to paying far above the market rate for its Solano County acquisitions.
Despite its land grab, Flannery Associates has never made public what it intends to do with 52,000 acres of Solano County - an empire that is nearly double the size of the city of San Francisco.
In the suit, Flannery only details the ways in which it won't alter the land: It claims it told landowners that they could keep "Existing income streams from wind energy and natural gas storage," could "Continue using these properties rent-free for decades," and would receive "Significant grants from Flannery for charitable giving, to be used at the discretion to support local schools and other non-profits." A KC-10 Extender is parked on the ramp as a C-5M Super Galaxy takes off at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif., March 16, 2017.
"Flannery's purchases are surrounding Travis Air Force Base, one of the most significant national security sites in our country, and it's been devastating to family farmers," Thompson said.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/someone-bought-52000-acres-in-the-bay-area-18296921.php
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