Residents of a wealthy Pennsylvania village confronted developers this week after learning that a billionaire has quietly bought up much of the town’s commercial core, fueling fears that one family now wields outsized control over its future.
The backlash centers on Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania’s richest man, whose family has spent more than $15 million acquiring homes, storefronts, and civic properties in Gladwyne, a community of just under 5,000 residents and where median home prices top $2.3 million.
At a packed public meeting in a school auditorium, developers working with Yass unveiled their first detailed redevelopment plans for the village center.
The moment that drew both applause and skepticism from residents alarmed by shuttered businesses, rising rents, and unanswered questions about the scope of the billionaire-backed project.
Standing before the crowd, Andre Golsorkhi, founder and CEO of design firm Haldon House, unveiled a sweeping redevelopment plan crafted in partnership with Yass and his wife, Janine.
Golsorkhi framed the effort as a ‘community impact project,’ insisting the billionaire family’s intentions were rooted in preservation rather than profit.
But for a town already rattled by closed storefronts, the presentation drew plenty of suspicion and unease.
Over the past several years, Haldon House and the Yass family have acquired multiple properties clustered around the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads – effectively Gladwyne’s commercial heart.
Hellbound and Down 