Yet another group of Silicon Valley tech workers are trying to build their own paradise, this time on a 267-acre plot located 90 minutes north of San Francisco.

The project, named Esmeralda, says it is completely separate from the similar California Forever proposal for Solano County. Those behind this new effort voice hopes of instead building a tightly-knit and walkable community in Cloverdale, a small town on the outskirts of Sonoma County.

Esmeralda's only public-facing founder, Devon Zuegel, is a Stanford graduate who has spent time as a software engineer at Github and Affirm, according to her LinkedIn profile. On that same page, Zuegel also lists that she has volunteered for housing activist group California YIMBY, in addition to leading The Stanford Review, the college's Peter Thiel-funded right-wing newspaper.

“If  you dream of living in a small town while being surrounded by creative, high-agency people, we’re building this for you,” Zuegel wrote in an X post announcing the project.

Esmeralda Land Company, the for-profit company ran by Zuegel that is behind the project, entered a purchase agreement for the 267 acres of land in July, ending a seven-year period where the parcel sat on the market without an interested buyer. The tract was previously the site of a $200 million proposal for a hotel, an idea that fell through because a local airport was deemed to be too close.

The company has previously hosted a "pop-up village" in Healdsburg that their official website says served as a prototype for what they hope Esmeralda will become. On the website, it is also stated that the purchase has not closed yet, and that the company are in a "rigorous due diligence process" to ensure the feasibility of the project.

Local officials seem to be in support of the idea, expressing excitement that developers are now paying attention to Cloverdale, a rural city of less than 10,000 people.

“It’s a really cool idea,” said Neena Hanchett, executive director of the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce, to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Image from Wikimedia