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.

Controversy erupted after Jeff Yass quietly bought up much of the village’s commercial core. Yass is pictured alongside his wife Janine Coslett

The redevelopment plans promises historic architecture, green space, and independent retailers – but no chains or hi-rise apartments

Those purchases include the former Gladwyne Market, the Village Shoppes, residential property on Youngs Ford Road, the Gladwyne Post Office building, and the former OMG Hair Salon, which was leased and later vacated.

Two longtime fixtures, the OMG Salon and Gladwyne Market, closed last year after the acquisitions sent ripples through the community fueling rumors about what was coming next.

Gladwyne has long prized its small-town feel and locally owned businesses, even as it sits among some of the wealthiest ZIP codes in the state. 

The idea that one billionaire family now controls much of the village center has left some residents uneasy, particularly as redevelopment plans remained opaque until now.

‘There’s been a lot of justified, warranted concern,’ Golsorkhi acknowledged during the meeting, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Renderings presented by Haldon House show a carefully curated version of Gladwyne’s future: preserved late-1800s stone architecture, wraparound porches, ivy-covered walls, Adirondack chairs, hydrangeas, and signage branded ‘Gladwyne Square.’ 

The plan calls for new green space, pedestrian-friendly footpaths, and a mix of small, independent retailers.

Golsorkhi stressed there would be no residential development, no national chain stores, and no high-rise buildings. 

The renderings emphasize Adirondack chairs, hydrangeas, and pedestrian-friendly walkways meant to evoke a timeless village square

Wide green lawns, picnic tables, and open gathering spaces feature prominently, projecting a calm, upscale community hub 

Gladwyne Pharmacy is slated to remain, with developers helping ‘reimagine’ its layout and customer experience

Gladwyne Market, a longtime community staple, was shuttered after its building was acquired by the developers

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Andre Golsorkhi, the CEO of Haldon House, has emerged as the public face of the project, insisting the billionaire-backed overhaul is a community-focused effort rooted in preservation rather than profit

Existing tenants like the local café Homeroom and Gladwyne Pharmacy would remain, while the former Gladwyne Market site would become a ‘casual, but elevated and approachable’ restaurant.

‘This is a place that we grew up, that we love, that we care for tremendously,’ Golsorkhi told those at the meeting. 

‘It has been protected for all the right reasons, but it has also not evolved. It needs a revitalization.’

Golsorkhi and his wife, Autumn Oser, co-owner of Haldon House, are both from the Gladwyne area, a point he emphasized repeatedly as residents questioned the motivations behind the project.

But not everyone remains convinced. 

‘I just wonder what the end game is,’ one resident said during the question-and-answer session. 

‘There’s always a price for this, having someone come in and say, ‘I’m going to make your community really, really cool and don’t worry about the money.’

Golsorkhi said the Yass family is prepared to absorb the costs of redevelopment but that it was too early to project a timeline. 

He repeatedly described the effort as part investment, part philanthropy.

The Gladwyne Post Office, also purchased as part of the redevelopment, has become a flashpoint after confusion over whether its services could eventually be reduced or relocated

OMG Hair Salon closed after its rent was sharply increased, becoming a flashpoint for critics of the project

Home Room café is expected to expand and remain part of the village’s future under the plan

They have already worked closely with Gladwyne Pharmacy helping ‘reimagine’ its design and customer experience with ‘no expectation of return.’

‘We’re doing that because we believe that the consistent experience and character of Gladwyne is really important,’ Golsorkhi said, adding that the pharmacy’s footprint had grown in ways that no longer best served the business or the community.

The developers also floated ideas for expanding green space, adding picnic tables and lawns, and creating venues for community events. 

Independent bakeries, boutique fitness studios, and ice cream shops are among the businesses they hope to attract.

One flashpoint involved the Gladwyne Post Office, which Golsorkhi suggested was ‘retiring its services,’ raising the possibility of a consolidated shipping hub combining USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

But Paul Smith, manager of public affairs for the US Postal Service in the Philadelphia region, said the Gladwyne post office remains open for retail transactions, mailing services and that the post office itself is not closing.

Behind the polished renderings and talk of preservation, business owners say the transition has come at a personal cost.

Other small shops around Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads now sit at the center of redevelopment uncertainty

Gladwyne is prized by residents for its historic charm, tight-knit community, and small-village feel

Longtime residents worry the village’s identity is being reshaped by one billionaire’s vision

Maurice Tenenbaum, owner of OMG Hair Salon, said the building’s owners more than doubled his rent last fall, forcing him to give up the space.

Pete Liccio, the former owner of Gladwyne Market, said that he also felt pushed out after decades serving the community.

Some residents left the meeting energized, calling the proposal long overdue.

‘What I’m seeing here is a center of gravity and an identity for Gladwyne that’s well-deserved and long been needed,’ one attendee said to the Inquirer.

Others walked away unconvinced, wary of a future shaped largely by one billionaire’s vision.

‘This is an investment and a philanthropic effort,’ Golsorkhi told the crowd. 

‘I understand and I recognize that that is a challenging thing to sort of believe.’

AP
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Bones and skulls visible in the back seat of a car near an abandoned cemetery on Philadelphia’s outskirts led police to a basement filled with body parts, which authorities say were hoarded by a man now accused of stealing about 100 sets of human remains.

Officers say a Tuesday night arrest culminated a monthslong investigation into break-ins at Mount Moriah Cemetery, where at least 26 mausoleums and vaults had been forced open since early November.

Investigators later searched the Ephrata home and storage unit of Jonathan Christ Gerlach, 34, and reported finding more than 100 human skulls, long bones, mummified hands and feet, two decomposing torsos and other skeletal items.

“They were in various states. Some of them were hanging, as it were. Some of them were pieced together, some were just skulls on a shelf,” Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said.

Most were in the basement, authorities said, and they also recovered jewelry believed to be linked to the graves. In one case, a pacemaker was still attached.

Police say Gerlach targeted mausoleums and underground vaults at the 1855 cemetery. It’s considered the country’s largest abandoned burial ground, according to Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, which helps maintain the 160-acre landmark in Yeadon that’s home to an estimated 150,000 grave sites.

Police had been looking into the string of burglaries when an investigator checked Gerlach’s vehicle plates and found he had been near Yeadon repeatedly during the period when the burglaries occurred. Police say the break-ins centered on sealed vaults and mausoleums containing older burials, which had been smashed open or had stonework damaged to reach the remains inside.

He was arrested as he walked back toward his car with a crowbar, police said, and a burlap bag in which officers found the mummified remains of two small children, three skulls and other bones.

Gerlach told investigators he took about 30 sets of human remains and showed them the graves he stole from, police said.

“Given the enormity of what we are looking at and the sheer, utter lack of reasonable explanation, it’s difficult to say right now, at this juncture, exactly what took place. We’re trying to figure it out,” Rouse told reporters.

Gerlach was charged with 100 counts each of abuse of a corpse and receiving stolen property, along with multiple counts of desecrating a public monument, desecrating a venerated object, desecrating a historic burial place, burglary, trespassing and theft.

He is jailed on $1 million bond. No lawyer was listed in court records. A message seeking comment was texted to a cellphone linked to him.