# Mysterious company buys land next to Travis Air Force Base in California. What's going on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 12, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479 "2023-08-12T19:50:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/1 "2023-08-12T19:50:15Z")
[Maybe it’s nothing, but a company is apparently paying unusually high prices for land right next to an Air Force Base in California.](https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/11/politics/cfius-review-land-buys-near-air-force-base/index.html) I do like a good mystery and I’d love it if there was some skullduggery around this story. Or maybe it’s just a way to sell the news. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/2 "2023-08-12T20:07:40Z")
That’s Travis AFB in Northern California. Not too far from me. And so far they’ve purchased more than 50,000 acres. That equals 78 square miles. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/3 "2023-08-12T20:11:09Z")
My first thought was “data storage”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/4 "2023-08-12T20:12:24Z")
Is it the Russians or the Chinese? Or worse yet the molemen. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/5 "2023-08-12T20:13:38Z")
Here is the Travis AFB location, between San Francisco and Sacramento. [![](https://i.imgur.com/zD4wuVx.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/zD4wuVx.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/6 "2023-08-12T20:17:08Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Is it the Russians or the Chinese? Or worse yet the molemen. It’s certainly got nothing to do with the new Lexcorp facility that just opened in Walnut Grove. That charming Mr. Luthor assured me that everything was above-board at his company. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/7 "2023-08-12T20:21:43Z")
They gotta put the alien craft somewhere. 👽 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/8 "2023-08-12T20:45:45Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > That equals 78 square miles. Or a square 8-1/2 miles on a side. Which is not all that big as cattle ranches go. It does seem implausible for that county. AFBs are infamous superfund sites. Perhaps they buy the land for something more than farmland prices, claim they want to build a modern suburban paradise, then “discover” leaked dioxins from Travis and persuade the Feds to take the land off their hands for a mere 1 _meellion_ pinkie finger to mouth dollars … per square foot. If it was nefarious foreigners intending to build something clandestine that can attack Travis in wartime, they don’t need no 78 square miles to do it. A couple of rented tilt-up warehouses full of SAMs with a fake roof would do the job much more cheaply. And with far less opportunity to attract unwanted official attention. The only way I could see a counter-military angle is if there is any expectation that Travis might be expanded either in peacetime or in wartime. Them owning the land off both ends of the runways might be a great way to extort a profit from Uncle Sam later. As the article points out, local landowners are now wise to Flannery’s maneuvers and are jacking their selling prices accordingly. There is a long history all over this country (and probably most countries) of small holders suddenly getting greedy when a big project starts buying up land around them. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/9 "2023-08-12T20:46:06Z")
78 square miles? Takes a lot of cheddar to store that craft. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/10 "2023-08-12T20:51:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@Bullitt](#): > > > > That equals 78 square miles. > > Or a square 8-1/2 miles on a side. Which is not all that big as cattle ranches go. True, not that big. But San Francisco is a square 7 miles on a side, so it is bigger than that city. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/11 "2023-08-12T22:12:03Z")
Yoyodyne Pacific, John Goldengate, CEO. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/12 "2023-08-12T22:20:00Z")
Oh crap! You nailed it @susan 😬 ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/13 "2023-08-12T22:21:47Z")
Wherever I go, there I am. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/14 "2023-08-12T22:22:49Z")
Laugh while you can, Monkeyboy! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/15 "2023-08-12T22:42:41Z")
San Francisco is about 47 sq. mi. St. Louis is 61. The District of Columbia is 68. Sacramento is 99.77 sq. mi. Perhaps someone wants to build an alternate capitol. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/16 "2023-08-12T23:47:53Z")
That’s some pretty dry and barren ranch land south and east of Travis, and pockmarked with vernal pools. Not at all fit for urban development. A wind farm would be a possibility. Got plenty of that in the area. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2023, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/17 "2023-08-12T23:51:23Z")
Look, I tried to keep this quiet. But please contact me should you wish to hear the exciting details of Project Arcturus… ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/18 "2023-08-13T00:39:18Z")
Steve Lehto covered this. The buyers are suing the farmers because they “collaborated” to raise the price once they noticed said buyer was buying up a lot of land. The point of suing is to bankrupt the farmers with legal bills. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHKjBqd7sg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRHKjBqd7sg) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/19 "2023-08-13T00:44:15Z")
SLAPP anyone? ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479/20 "2023-08-13T01:30:33Z")
It’s funny in a WTF kind of way. People didn’t want to sell. When they got offered a shit load of money and mentioned it to their neighbor. Conspiracy!! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mysterious-company-buys-land-next-to-travis-air-force-base-in-california-whats-going-on/988479.md?page=2)