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.

Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, a village of just under 5,000 residents, is suddenly at the center of a high-stakes fight over its future

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