Silicon Couloir’s Chance Meeting all about housing
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Housing, as a general topic in Jackson, takes a backseat to nothing else. Not even COVID. Talk to anyone who calls this place home (even if that’s a couch, car, or motel) and the lack of affordable housing and its implications will come up again and again.
It’s always been hard. And it has never been harder than now. Recent demographic changes have only exacerbated the problem, as those with means are swallowing up anything and everything available, reducing inventory levels to all-time lows and creating greater disparity of wealth.
“COVID has accelerated demographic and class trends in the Tetons region at a furious pace. Housing for workers is becoming unattainable, traffic is more snarled than ever, and our status as the most unequal county in the country by income has worsened at warp speed,” says Silicon Couloir executive director Gary Trauner.
In November 2021, the median listing home price in Jackson, Wyoming was $2.4M, up 38.6% year-over-year according to realtor.com. For many essential workers and young entrepreneurs, the only option for homeownership (and in some cases, for secure rentals) is through one of several affordable housing programs in the community.
Whether you are in need of affordable housing, or just want to support the effort or both, you may be interested in joining Silicon Couloir for their Monthly Chance Meeting this month themed: ‘Affordable Housing Opportunities in the Teton Region.’
Silicon Couloir has invited all the players, presentations from local affordable housing experts including Anne Cresswell, Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust executive director; April Norton, Jackson/Teton County Housing Department director; Kris Greenville, Teton Habitat executive director; and Shawn Hill, Teton County, ID Joint Housing Authority Board. David Stubbs, long-time Jackson resident, and affordable housing homeowner will moderate.
Chance Meeting is Monday, January 10, from 5-6pm. Register online.
Anne Cresswell has served as the Executive Director of the Jackson Hole Community Housing Trust for nearly 19 years. The Community Housing Trust is a nonprofit affordable housing developer dedicated to the creation of quality, truly affordable housing to retain our essential workforce.
During Anne’s tenure she has overseen the development of 118 homes; an additional 70 units are in the pipeline. As the cost to construct affordable housing has increased over time, Anne has worked to develop a variety of financial and legal instruments to enable the development of affordable housing and facilitate partnerships with some of Teton County’s most essential employers.
2021 marked the 30th anniversary of the Community Housing Trust. During this time, more than 563 people have been served; in the last two years alone, the CHT has provided stable, affordable housing for 112 people.
In 2016, April Norton joined the Jackson/Teton County Housing Department as its first director, focusing on partnerships to create affordable housing in the Jackson Hole area. Since being hired, her team has partnered on eight public-private partnership developments that represent 241 new permanently deed restricted homes, including two partnerships with the Housing Trust and two partnerships with Teton Habitat.
These public-private partnership projects represent $37,000,000 in public funds and over $95,000,000 in private investment.
Kris Greenville was named executive director of Teton Habitat in September of 2019. Previously, he worked as operations manager for NOLS, the job that brought him to Wyoming from the San Francisco Bay Area. Kris was vice president of the Pacific Pension and Investment Institute from 2007-2017. He has also held management roles with the American Red Cross and the YMCA.
Shawn W. Hill is the executive director of Future West and serves on the Teton County, Idaho Joint Housing Authority Board. He has 20 years of planning, conservation, and affordable housing consulting experience in the Northern Rockies.
Prior to Future West, he served as the executive director of Valley Advocates for Responsible Development (VARD), a 501(c)(3) organization advocating for responsible land use planning in the Teton Valley of Idaho and Wyoming. Shawn has 9 years of experience in the public sector working as a planner for Summit County, Utah and the Town of Jackson, Wyoming.
As a private consultant, he has been involved in various planning and housing projects in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. Shawn holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Wyoming and a B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Utah. He is on the Teton County, Idaho Joint Housing Authority Commission and serves on the editorial board of Western Planner.
David Stubbs is a contract photographer, cinematographer and filmmaker based in Jackson, Wyoming. He came to the valley for a photojournalist job at the Jackson Hole News and Guide shortly after college in 1999. He and his wife Bille, a district teacher in the dual immersion program, have lived in a Housing Trust home since 2008 rasing two daughters who are now nine and 13-years-old.
