Dave Chappelle Purchased Acres Of Land To Block $39 Million Development Plan In Ohio Village

Famous American comedian Dave Chappelle recently added a few acres of land to his list of properties. The entertainer is known for having his own televised show and several Netflix comedy stand-up specials. He currently resides on a 30-acre farm on the outskirts of Yellow Springs in Greene County, Ohio.

The Ohio town council was recently faced with a $39 million development plan covering 52 acres of land. Chappelle made an appearance at the town's council meeting and said in no uncertain words that he didn't approve of the plan. The comedian also threatened the inhabitants that he would pull out his investments worth millions if the project went forward.

The council still approved the plan despite the threat, so Chappelle resorted to other measures. To stop the development plan, the comedian purchased what is speculated to be 19 acres of land from the required 52 acres needed for the project to move forward.

Chappelle just purchased a large piece of land in the village of Ohio. The comedian purchased the land to stop a land developer from moving into the quiet town with a $39 million development plan. The zoning plan reportedly stretched so vastly that it could have potentially gotten up to the border of his property.

According to Chappelle's reps, he bought several acres of Yellow Springs, OH land, which previously had Oberer developers Ltd as its owner. The company previously revealed plans for a huge subdivision that would have occupied around 52 acres of the quiet town.

It's believed that the comedian now owns the southern portion of the land and purchased it to create some distance between future construction and his property. While his publicist confirmed to YSNews that Chappelle had purchased some of the land, it wasn't specified how many acres in total he acquired.

However, according to the Greene County Auditors Geographic Information Systems website, among the 52 acres of land that had Oberer, its owner, 19 acres are now linked to Chappelle's company, Iron Table Holdings LLC.

Before purchasing the land, Chappelle appeared in a public meeting held by the Yellow Springs town council and expressed his thoughts on the development plan. During the Monday evening meeting, when the public was invited to comment, he called the council "clowns" and threatened to stop his business there.

Chappelle planned to set up a restaurant/comedy club called the Firehouse Eatery. While threatening the council members, the comedian also hurled some choice insults at them. The council eventually approved the development plan but rejected the parts that included affordable housing.

Some reports claim that Chappelle was behind the rejection of that part of the plan; however, his Rep Carla Sims told TMZ otherwise. She said, "Dave Chappelle didn't 'kill' affordable housing. Concerned citizens and responding village council killed off a half-baked plan which never actually offered affordable housing."

According to her, the accomplished comedian isn't opposed to affordable housing but is against the "poor vetted, cookie-cutter, sprawl style development deal." The proposed residential development reportedly reserved around 3 of the 143 lots for future affordable housing.

While Chappelle didn't identify his reason for not wanting the project to move forward, someone who felt the same way revealed that he didn't think that the project was designed to help the people of Yellow Springs but was instead for people outside the county.

Max Crome, an architect who works alongside Chappelle on his business interests in the town, said the project was rushed. He told the Dayton Daily News, "It's clearly not designed for the benefit of the villagers."

He added, "The developers rushed the project and got a sweetheart deal with the council that was not properly vetted. It doesn't even include affordable housing."

While expressing his displeasure with the project, Chappelle threatened to pull out his investments from his hometown. The comedian is reportedly working on projects worth millions in the town.

Chappelle's company, Iron Table Holdings LLC, bought the village's fire station building and is currently renovating it. The comedian intends to transform the warehouse into an eatery, a comedy club and a lounge for the town's locals. He made the purchase in December 2020 and reportedly intended to use it to give a platform for younger comedians trying to get into the industry.

The comedy club would be called "Live From YS," while the eatery would be "Firehouse Eatery." Chappelle reportedly bought the space for properties for around $1.1 million. The comedy club would function four days a week, while the restaurant would open seven days a week.