Billionaire Jeff Yass is behind a plan to revitalize downtown Gladwyne

Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania’s richest man, is behind a plan to redevelop much of downtown Gladwyne.

Standing before a packed school auditorium, Andre Golsorkhi, founder and CEO of design firm Haldon House, unveiled the long-awaited redevelopment proposal for Gladwyne’s village center.

Haldon House is working with Yass and his wife, Janine, on redeveloping a half-dozen properties in Gladwyne with historic architecture, green spaces, and new businesses. Golsorkhi called the proposal a “community impact project” for the Yass family, which has spent over $15 million acquiring the properties.

Gladwyne village has long been home to small businesses, namely OMG Hair Salon, the Gladwyne Pharmacy, the Guard House, and Gladwyne Market. OMG Salon and the Gladwyne Market shuttered last year after the developers acquired their storefronts, sending ripples, and rumors, through the Main Line community.

For the first time this week, Golsorkhi brought his development plans and his partnership with the Yass family to the public. He was met with both applause and skepticism from attendees. Some expressed optimism about the proposal, while others questioned why the developers would pour millions into a project with no apparent financial gain.

Haldon House’s proposal, as outlined by Golsorkhi, involves retaining much of Gladwyne’s historic architecture while bringing in new retailers, opening up green space, and increasing connectivity in the village’s downtown core.

The developer plans to expand local café Homeroom and keep the Gladwyne Pharmacy while courting new businesses that “fit the character and are contextually relevant to the town.” There are no plans for residential development, national chain stores, or high-rise buildings.

“This is a place that we grew up, that we love, that we care for tremendously, that has been protected for all the right reasons, but it has also not evolved,” Golsorkhi said. “It needs a revitalization.”

Golsorkhi and his wife, Autumn Oser, the co-owner of Haldon House, are from the Gladwyne area.

Yass is a billionaire, conservative megadonor, and founder of the Bala Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group. The Yass family has lived in Haverford for more than 40 years.

Haldon House and the Yass family have purchased multiple properties at the intersection of Youngs Ford and Righters Mill Roads, including the former Gladwyne Market building, the Village Shoppes, a residential property on the 900 block of Youngs Ford Road, and the Gladwyne Post Office, according to Golsorkhi. They’ve also leased the former OMG Salon at 351 Righters Mill Rd.

Citing the rumors that percolated in community after the shuttering of Gladwyne Market, Golsorkhi said there’s been “a lot of justified, warranted concern.”

Renderings of the proposal show the village’s core buildings retaining their late-1800s architecture, with new wraparound porches, ivy-covered stone walls, Adirondack chairs, hydrangeas, and “Gladwyne Square” branded signs.

Golsorkhi said in an email that the developers were prepared to assume the costs and it was too early to specify how long the project would take.

In addition to keeping Homeroom and the Gladwyne Pharmacy in place, the developers plan to put a “casual, but elevated and approachable” restaurant in the former Gladwyne Market site. They‘ll recruit independent retailers like bakeries, boutique fitness studios, and ice cream parlors. They also intend to expand the village’s open green space with picnic tables, open lawns, and venues for community events.

Golsorkhi said they would take a “forward and involved approach” with new and existing tenants, from designing storefronts to offering input on products to stock.

They have worked closely with Gladwyne Pharmacy to help “reimagine” the “design and experience,” with “no expectation of return,” Golsorkhi said, adding that the pharmacy has “built up merchandise and square footage over time that isn’t necessarily best serving the business or the community.”

“We’re doing that because we believe that the consistent experience and character of Gladwyne is really important,” he said.

Golsorkhi told attendees at the meeting on Thursday that while they have “no particular intentions” for the recently purchased Gladwyne Post Office, it was “retiring its services” and there was potential to create a new, centralized storefront where residents could access USPS, UPS, and FedEx services.

Paul Smith, manager of public affairs and communications for the Postal Service in the Philadelphia region, said the Gladwyne post office was not retiring its services. In early 2024, Gladwyne and other local post offices moved their letter carriers to a large delivery center in Wayne, where they pick up mail and distribute it to their routes. Gladwyne’s post office is still used for retail transactions, mailing items, and for P.O. box holders.

Golsorkhi clarified in an email that he understood the post office’s changes. In case services are further reduced in the future, he said, “we want to be sure we’re ahead of it by considering what shipping hubs and/or shipping services we can bring to the village to ensure continuity of mailing services, while also augmenting USPS with other carriers.”

Haldon House and the Yass family’s recent acquisitions left some business owners feeling slighted.

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

Pete Liccio, owner of the now-closed Gladwyne Market, said in an October interview that he had also felt pushed out.

At Thursday’s meeting, some residents said Gladwyne was ready for a revitalization, from new restaurants to more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure.

“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.

Others expressed concern.

“I just wonder what the end game is. 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,’” another Gladwyne resident said during a question-and-answer segment.

“[This is an] investment and a philanthropic effort …,” Golsorkhi said. “I understand and I recognize that that is a challenging thing to sort of believe.”

This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.