Mare Island: Napa Rival, or 'More Bay Hubris'?

Wine mogul David Phinney recently sold his wine label for millions, and is now eyeing the Mare Island peninsula in California, 23 miles north of San Francisco, for a new real estate venture.

Phinney hopes to turn the "Chernobyl-like charm" of the island into a walkable getaway city, powered by wine and spirits. Mare Island is located within the city limits of Vallejo, Calif., and Phinney tells The Daily Beast, “I want to create a model city. Driverless cars, completely sustainable. This has all become economically viable in a way it didn’t used to be. It’s a 50-year plan." He muses, “The idea of being able to tinker with an island for the rest of your life is kind of cool.”

He’s not the only one with big plans for the island. Modular home builder Factory OS plans to build stackable modular housing in a 250,000 square foot building that once housed the shipyard machine shop, and about 1,500 units are already under construction, Factory OS CEO and Founder Rick Holliday recently told the North Bay Business Journal. “Anyone with an interest in history, as soon as they come down and figure out what’s happening here is hooked,” Fortner says. “It’s magical. Most towns on the West Coast have a building or two that speaks to this kind of history. Nothing else has it.”

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