California Governor Gavin Newsom has been privately advocating for the controversial California Forever megacity project as it faces setbacks, including the loss of a major tenant, according to newly obtained documents. Although publicly restrained on the issue, Newsom has engaged closely with project leaders and local officials in recent months.

Records reveal that Newsom held a private 35-minute meeting on April 1 with California Forever’s CEO Jan Sramek and other officials. Ahead of that meeting, the governor’s chief of staff, Nathan Barankin, reportedly briefed Newsom on the initiative. Barankin has also scheduled a meeting with Solano County officials later this week to discuss the project’s future.

Officials from the governor’s office declined to comment on these engagements or the proposal itself. However, a recent memo from Newsom’s administration strongly endorsed the California Forever plan, particularly the twin developments known as the Solano Shipyard and Solano Foundry projects. The memo characterized the projects as having “the best potential” within the state for attracting billions in investment and suggested that their successful implementation could have implications beyond local and state interests, even rising to the level of “national security.”

The memo appears aimed at state legislators, who are set to return from their summer recess with a legislative agenda that may include special measures to support the California Forever developments. The project aims to construct the nation’s first walkable city, featuring 170,000 new homes built over a 40-year period in Solano County.

These developments come amid a reshaping of the original California Forever concept, which initially envisioned a city of 400,000 residents. The plan now emphasizes advanced manufacturing, shipbuilding, and workforce housing. This strategic pivot follows the departure of Saronic, a defense startup that had planned a major shipyard but opted to locate its facility in Texas instead of Solano County.

For Governor Newsom, the project represents a potential signature achievement to culminate his nearly eight years in office, particularly with speculation mounting about a possible presidential bid in 2028. His administration has prioritized ambitious goals in areas such as housing production, aiming to construct millions of new homes statewide. The California Forever proposal could add tens of thousands of residences to address the housing shortfall and support the anticipated workforce for the manufacturing and shipbuilding sectors.

With less than six months remaining in his tenure, Newsom’s intensified engagement with California Forever signals a concerted effort to solidify local and state backing for the multibillion-dollar project as legislators prepare to consider related legislation in the coming weeks.