Bill Gates Buys 25,000 Acres in Arizona for a Master Planned 'Smart City'

"An investment firm run by Bill Gates has put down $80 million to develop a planned community in Arizona," reports Sophie Wiener.

The idea is to build a "smart city" on 25,000 acres of land located about 45 minutes west of Phoenix. The new planned community will be called Belmont. "Of the 25,000 acres, 3,800 will be used for office, retail, and commercial space," explains Wiener. "Another 470 acres will be used for public schools. That leaves enough space for 80,000 residential units."

A press release from Belmont Partners, Gates's investment firm, explains more about the ambitions of the development: "Belmont will create a forward-thinking community with a communication and infrastructure spine that embraces cutting-edge technology, designed around high-speed digital networks, data centers, new manufacturing technologies and distribution models, autonomous vehicles and autonomous logistics hubs."

Bianca Buono broke the news about the purchase, and also speaks with Ronald Schott, executive emeritus at the Arizona Technology Council about the prospects for the new development. Schott notes in particular the site's proximity to the proposed I-11 freeway, "which would run right through Belmont and connect to Las Vegas."

Bill Gates is also featured in the news report, shared by KPNX on YouTube shown below, about the plans for Belmont.