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California Forever, a controversial project with aspirations to expand Solano County by up to 400,000 residents, was dealt a blow last week as a $3 billion contract went to Texas instead.
California Forever first became known to the public in 2024, when reports surfaced that a shadowy group of billionaires had purchased 65,000 largely rural acres around Suisun City and Rio Vista, making it the largest landowner in Solano County. The group announced it planned to build a new city with its acquisitions, but the idea was widely unpopular in the county. Amid dire polling numbers, California Forever pulled a November 2024 ballot measure that would have allowed the project to bypass certain zoning restrictions to develop the area.
Since then, the project has pivoted, at least in the short term, toward manufacturing. The site's location, which has access to the Pacific Ocean via Suisun Bay, has been pitched to companies as an ideal spot for shipbuilding.
One of those companies is Saronic Technologies Inc. The Austin company builds autonomous ships and has a contract with the U.S. government. Recently, the U.S. Navy used its drones to attack a naval base in Iran, and one of Saronic's autonomous Corsairs was employed in the rescue of downed U.S. pilots in the Strait of Hormuz.
Saronic had several finalists for its $3.2 billion new shipyard contract, among them the Solano site. But last week, the company announced it was staying in Texas and awarding the contract to the Port of Brownsville. In a press release touting the port, Saronic said the project will generate $160 billion for the county, making it "one of the largest economic development projects in modern Texas history." Construction is set to start this year, with the port operational in 2028.
California Forever issued a joint statement on the rejection Thursday, saying they were "extremely frustrated that California lost this historic opportunity."
"Despite the incredible hard work of the Newsom Administration, GO-Biz, and numerous business, labor, education, and community leaders, our approval process cannot accommodate the required speed without special legislation," the statement said.
The group pointed the finger at California's permitting regulations, calling the state's timeline too slow for "the speed required by America's national defense needs."
Although the San Francisco Chronicle reported California Forever is trying to woo other companies to start manufacturing on its property, it's another setback for the controversial group. Earlier this year, California Forever announced it still plans to create a new city for 400,000 people by building "non-stop" for the next 40 years. Adding 400,000 new residents to Solano County would nearly double the size of the county.
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