Town’s Owners Reveal Identities, Restoration Plans
Two wealthy couples who anonymously bought a tiny Northern California coastal town have revealed their identities and described their plans to restore it.
Lane DeVries, chief executive of Sun Valley Floral Farms in Arcata, his wife, Kathryn, local builder Dan Johnson and his wife, Kendra, kept their identities quiet until finalizing the deal last week with Seattle-based Simpson Timber Co., the former owner.
They plan to preserve the historic character of the community of 300. They also aspire to improve the commercial core and homes of the town, founded in 1892.
The blue-collar town has nearly 100 redwood-clad houses and an 11-room Victorian inn. It sits on 65 acres of the peninsula between Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
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