() A charming California neighborhood has been disrupted as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been slowly building a compound, angering neighbors.
The Crescent Park neighborhood in Palo Alto, California, was quiet and full of families before Zuckerberg moved in, with children playing outside and neighborhood block parties.
The billionaire’s arrival has changed the atmosphere of the area, and some residents have left over the disruption, the New York Times reported. The outlet interviewed neighbors and reviewed public documents and other information to report on his influence.
The report details how Zuckerberg purchased 11 homes, offering double or more of a home’s value to get owners to sell. Many of those homes remain empty, and others have been converted from single-family homes to guest houses or buildings for entertainment.
Zuckerberg has also reportedly used another property as a private school, which is prohibited by housing codes. He has also added 7,000 square feet of underground space officially labeled as a basement, but referred to by others in the area as bunkers.
For those who live nearby, it’s been eight years of construction noise and equipment, they told reporters. Zuckerberg’s arrival has also meant surveillance, with private security guards who question people on public sidewalks and surveillance cameras pointed at neighbors’ property. Zuckerberg has disputed those claims and said cameras are adjusted on request.
A Zuckerberg spokesperson also told the New York Times he gives neighbors updates ahead of potentially disruptive events and a way to report problems.
It’s not the first time Zuckerberg has caused major disruption to a neighborhood. He caused similar construction in San Francisco’s Delores Park neighborhood when he owned a house there.
He also owns 2,300 acres in Hawaii, where he built a compound on the island of Kauai. He is also building a compound at Lake Tahoe and owns a mansion in Washington, D.C.
