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Bill Gates Just Put Millions Into Building a Smart City in the Desert

By
Natasha Bach
Natasha Bach
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By
Natasha Bach
Natasha Bach
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November 13, 2017, 6:18 AM ET

Bill Gates has plans to build a “smart city” outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

The billionaire’s investment group, Cascade Investment, paid about $80 million for a stake in a 24,800 acre development 45 minutes outside Phoenix, called Belmont.

Read: Bill Gates Is Investing More than a Billion Dollars in Public Schools

The desert land is currently almost entirely undeveloped. However, developers Belmont Partners plan to build 80,000 homes, 3,800 acres of industrial, office, and retail space, and 470 acres for public schools, leaving about 3,400 acres of open land.

In a press release, Belmont Partners said they plan to “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.”

Read: It Takes Half of America to Match the Wealth of These Three Billionaires

Belmont will be located along the proposed freeway I-11, which would run from Reno to Mexico and connect the town to both Phoenix and Las Vegas.

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By Natasha Bach
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