Flannery Associates is a company run by Jan Sramek, a 36-year-old former Goldman Sachs trader. Beyond that, nothing much is known of the company except that some of the most famous names in Silicon Valley have invested in a project being promoted by Flannery. Some backers include Marc Andreessen, Powell Jobs, Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and others, according to the report.

The entire Air Force base is now encircled by land owned by Flannery. This caught the attention of the Department of Defense, who have since been investigating. According to the New York Times, in 2017, Flannery was trying to sell an idea to build an entire city — walkable and green. Its proximity to San Francisco suggests that the new city would be an escape hatch for those who are finding San Francisco unlivable. But others aren't so sure.