Mark Zuckerberg’s ongoing construction spree in Palo Alto has left his neighbors frazzled and upset, prompting the Meta CEO to reportedly distribute noise-canceling headphones, along with bottles of sparkling wine and Krispy Kreme doughnuts, as a peace offering.
Construction Drama
According to the New York Times, the gifts were intended to ease frustrations stemming from years of seemingly unending construction around the 11 homes Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have acquired in the Crescent Park neighborhood.
Since moving to Palo Alto in 2011, Zuckerberg has spent more than $110 million buying properties along Edgewood Drive and Hamilton Avenue. What started out as a single 5,600-square-foot house has now evolved into an expansive compound featuring guest houses, gardens, sports courts, a pool with a hydrofloor, and underground facilities totaling thousands of square feet, which has been called a bunker. For a period, one of the properties even operated as a private school for the couple’s children and others. But this raised questions about local zoning compliance.
With all this activity over the course of eight years, Zuckerberg’s neighbors don’t seem too happy. “No neighborhood wants to be occupied,” said Michael Kieschnick, a homeowner on Hamilton Avenue, told The New York Times. “But that’s exactly what they’ve done. They’ve occupied our neighborhood.”
As such Zuckerberg’s gifts didn’t mollify the community. In fact, social media reactions ranged from lampoon the tech bro to pointed condemnation. Some residents even called the gesture condescending.
This is not Zuckerberg’s has caused commotion in a community over construction. In 2016, he wanted to demolish four homes and replace them with smaller structures and basements. His request was rejected by the city, though construction continued gradually. Over the years, the Zuckerbergs have received more than 56 building permits to slowly expand the compound.
Zuckerberg’s real estate holdings extend beyond Palo Alto, including a 2,300-acre estate in Kauai, Hawaii, as well as homes in Lake Tahoe and Washington, D.C. And many of these too have sparked local debates over construction and land use.
