How Mark Zuckerberg upended a quiet California neighborhood to maintain his own private paradise

Daily Mail​

12 hours ago

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has completely upended a once idyllic California neighborhood in order to build his own private compound, residents say.
The billionaire and his wife, Priscilla Chan, first moved to the Crescent Park neighborhood of Palo Alto in 2011, when they purchased a 5,600-square-foot home on Edgewood Drive - which the local heritage society says is the oldest in the city, according to the New York Times.
But soon, Zuckerberg started buying up more and more property along Edgewood Drive and Hamilton Avenue, spending more than $110 million to scoop up at least 11 houses - several of which now sit empty.
He turned five others into his opulent compound for him, Chan and their three daughters, along with guest homes, lush gardens, a pickleball court and a pool that could be covered with a hydrofloor for parties.
Other nearby properties include an entertainment center and a staging area for outdoor parties, as well as a private school for 14 children - even though that is not allowed under city code, The Times reports.
In the center of the compound sits a seven-foot tall statue of Chan that the tycoon debuted last year on his Instagram.
'No neighborhood wants to be occupied,' said Michel Kieschnick, whose home on Hamilton Avenue is surrounded on three sides by the Meta CEO's property.
'But that's exactly what they've done. They've occupied our neighborhood.'
Kieschnick and other neighbors told how Zuckerberg, now worth an estimated $270 billion, added 7,000 square feet of underground space.
Building permits obtained by The Times refer to them as basements, but neighbors said they were more akin to bunkers or even a billionaire's bat cave.
Zuckerberg also added surveillance to their once quiet neighborhood, with cameras positioned at his homes with views or his neighbor's property and teams of security guards who sit in vehicles in front of their neighbors' homes, filming visitors and asking others what they are doing while they walk on the public sidewalk.
In total, the city has approved 56 permits for Zuckerberg's properties since he moved into the neighborhood - prompting some residents to claim that city officials are bowing down to the Meta CEO's every whim.
They claimed that city police recently affixed signs to trees warning residents of a tow-away zone on the public road, blocking residents from parking their own cars there for five hours on a Wednesday evening because Zuckerberg was hosting a backyard barbecue.
Even when the billionaire's plans to buy four neighboring properties was rejected by the Architectural Review Board in 2016, his plans for the neighborhood moved forward but at a slower pace, the neighbors said.
'Billionaires everywhere are used to just making their own rules - Zuckerberg and Chan are not unique, except that they're our neighbors,' said Kieschnick, the cofounder of a cellphone company who now works as a green energy advocate.
'But it's a mystery why the city has been so feckless.'
Zuckerberg had started buying up the properties around his house just one year after he moved into the neighborhood, spending more than $40 million to snatch up the four house that form an L shape around his home.
He then resumed his spending spree in 2022, buying six more homes - including four in just the past 15 months.
By 2016, the billionaire asked the city for permission to demolish the four homes that border his main family house and rebuild them much smaller with large basements.
City officials approved the measure, but because it involved construction on three or more properties at once, the municipal code required Zuckerberg go before the Architectural Review Board.
Peter Baltay, a Palo Alto architect who was then a member of the review board, told The Times he found the proposal odd and wanted to see the site in person before casting a vote.
But when he arrived, he said a security guard approached him and asked what he was doing.
'I said "I'm standing on the sidewalk looking at this project for review,"' Baltay recounted. 'He said, "Well, we'd appreciate it if you could move on."
'I was pretty shocked by that,' he said, noting it was a public sidewalk.
The Facebook founder did not wind up attending the Architectural Review Board hearing, and instead had an architect, a builder and an arborist try to convince the board he was not removing the supply of single-family homes in the neighborhood.
But the board was not convinced, with Baltay saying he found it a 'real shame' that four beautiful homes were being demolished so a billionaire could have a giant estate complete with a movie theater.
The board then rejected Zuckerberg's plan - but the Meta CEO moved forward with it anyway, just more slowly with one or two houses under construction at a time so that he would not have to go back before the review board.
The result, neighbors say, has been eight years of construction, filling the streets with massive equipment and noise.
During that time, neighbors say their driveways have been blocked, their tires flattened by construction debris and their car mirrors knocked off by equipment.
Employees at Zuckerberg's compound also regularly parked their cars and ate their lunches in front of neighbor's homes, claiming Zuckerberg wanted to keep the frontage of his home clear.
At times, residents said, the street could be blocked for days - especially when Zuckerberg and Chan host their grandiose parties, like their wedding on the property.
Those parties often include valet parking for guests in gowns and tuxedoes or costumes if the theme calls for them.
Often, the music is blaring, sometimes prompting residents to call the nonemergency police line - though they say they never get a response.
But it was never supposed to be like this, Kieschnick said, recounting how Zuckerberg and Chan held a meeting for neighbors when they first came up with the plans for their compound about 10 years ago.
He said they presented their vision for the project and assured neighbors they would provide off-site parking for employees and would not tear down any homes.
However, a spokesman for the couple said no such promises had ever been made.
Still, spokesman Aaron McLear insisted the couple has tried to do right by their neighbors.
He explained to The Times that Zuckerberg requires heavy security after receiving specific, credible threats and denied that security cameras are pointed at neighbors. Whenever a neighbor complains, McLear said, they adjust the cameras.
He also said the family's staff provides neighbors with notice of potentially disruptive events and gives them a phone number to report problems, and claimed that staff members are reimbursed for rideshares to encourage them not to park their own vehicle in the neighborhood.
McLear also noted that in the case of the three most recent homes Zuckerberg has purchased, the owners approached him offering to sell.
'Mark, Priscilla and their children have made Palo Alto their home for more than a decade,' McLear said. 'They value being members of the community and have taken a number of steps above and beyond any local requirements to avoid disruption in the neighborhood.'
Meghan Horrigan-Taylor, a spokeswoman for the City of Palo Alto, also denied that the Zuckerbergs received any preferential treatment in getting permits, saying that the work was all compliant with city code.
'The city does not regulate who can buy nearby or adjacent properties, whether on the open market or privately,' she said.
Greer Stone, a member of the Palo Alto City Council, though, said that while the city followed the letter of the law in granting the family permits it is not acting in the city's spirit by allowing Zuckerberg to take over the neighborhood.
'He's been finding loopholes around our local laws and zoning ordinances,' Stone said of Zuckerberg.
'We should never be a gated, gilded city on a hill where people don't know their neighbors.'
He said he is now working on legislation to address the problem.
In the meantime, residents admit Zuckerberg has made some concessions - with his security guards now sitting in quiet electric vehicles rather than gas-powered cars.
While the billionaire still does not attend the annual block parties, he sent an ice cream cart to the last one.
Staff have also sent gifts to the neighbors when Zuckerberg is planning a raucous party, including bottles of sparkling wine, chocolates, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and even noise-canceling headphones.