Town of Jackson

Hall housing project secures $250K grant

Affordable homes are joint effort of Housing Authority, Habitat for Humanity.

By Kevin Huelsmann, Jackson Hole, Wyo.

April 7, 2010

A project to build 14 affordable homes along Hall Avenue now has some financial backing.

Late last month, the state Community Development Association awarded a $250,000 grant to the project, a partnership between the Teton County Housing Authority and Habitat for Humanity.

The development, purchased from the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust last fall, was heavily reliant on grant money and had not been able to move forward until now, said Christine Walker, executive director of the housing authority.

“We now have money to start construction,” Walker said. “Even if we don’t get the second grant, we could probably fill the gap with money from exaction fees. It’s a lot smaller gap to bridge than if it were $500,000.”

Walker declined to provide any estimates of how much the project will cost because much of the design work has yet to be finalized, as does the authority’s agreement with Habitat for Humanity.

“They will have a certain number of units to build, but we’ll probably pay for all of the grading work and landscaping and some of the infrastructure,” Walker said of the tentative agreement. “We still have to work out the details, though.”

The authority still plans to apply for a $240,000 grant through a federal home lending program.

“If we get that, it should cover the subsidy for the homes,” Walker said. 

Walker said her staff will work on the design of the project this summer and work to get a final development plan approved by the town. She estimated that construction will begin in 2011.

The Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust bought the property in 2006 with $1.4 million generated by the specific purpose excise tax and received sketch plan approval from the Jackson Town Council in August.

The trust said it planned to build 10 one-bedroom units and four three-bedroom units on the 0.8-acre property. The units were slated to be distributed among six 28-foot buildings.

Those plans also outlined a partnership between the authority and the trust in which each organization would sell seven units. However, under that agreement the trust would have managed all of the units.

In November, however, the trust transferred the property title to the authority for $150,000.

At the time, trust Executive Director Anne Hayden Cresswell said the trust “had a full plate” and that the authority was in a better position to move forward with it.

Since then, the housing authority has been trying to attract grant money to jump-start the project. Walker said the authority was able to leverage the land as a local match to the state money. In addition, lower construction costs and the partnership with Habitat have lowered some of the costs of the project.