Sketch plan for Condos at Cache + Pearl approved

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — A major mixed-use development in downtown Jackson took a preliminary step forward yesterday after its sketch plan was approved by the Town Council.

Condos at Cache + Pearl has become a poster child for all that is wrong with the town’s current development regulations and process that allow a developer to follow every rule on the book while building something the community does not want or need.

“If we do not address this underlying issue we are responsible for dividing this community and setting things on fire, and it is on us,” councilwoman Jessica Sell Chambers warned her peers.

Crystal Creek Capital’s (CCC) 1.2-acre property (7 lots) covers nearly an entire southern block starting at the corner of Pearl and Cache and extending east to the historic Coe House cabin property (Old Sweetwater). It is zoned Downtown Commercial-2 (DC-2) and located in the Lodging Overlay (LO). The site has several existing structures which include:

• Ranch Inn Hotel (57 lodging units) built from 1974 to 1995 (28,508 sf above grade + 11,558 sf basement) which includes commercial spaces such as Thai Me Up restaurant and Grace Spa
• Retail building adjacent to alley along Cache built in 1935 (2,613 sf above grade + 500 sf basement) (Under the Willow art gallery)
• Retail building at the corner of Pearl and Cache built in 1989 (7,584 sf above grade + 3,792 sf basement) (Ranch shops)

Project description

Jim Walter’s CCC, who also own The Cloudveil and developed the condos at One Town Hill, is requesting approval of a Sketch Plan for a 67,000-sf, 3-story, mixed-use building with at-grade covered parking of 62 spaces. The project, called Condos at Cache + Pearl, includes a 6,800-sf basement consisting of a gym and storage units for the condos. All existing buildings on the site will be demolished.

The proposed ground level includes six commercial spaces totaling in the neighborhood of 10,000 square feet. They are intended for retail but may be used for other allowed commercial uses like office space or a restaurant.

Levels two and three include a total of 17 short-term rental condos (seven 2-bedrooms and ten 3-bedrooms). All 17 condos will be allowed to be used for both short-term rental and long-term rental, and can be owner-occupied. Two private amenity spaces are proposed: a 16,200-sf private courtyard above the parking garage, and a 3,560-sf private deck above the second floor on Pearl Avenue.

Greenlighted with trepidation

The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the development after its review December 1, 2021.

After acknowledging that the project met all applicable LDRs and that the design appeared to meet the design guidelines per Design and Review (DRC) recommendation, some commissioners expressed general concerns over the appropriateness of buildings this large being located in the downtown area, and of how to best apply existing guidelines for western character on large buildings.

The Planning Commission also questioned methodology behind housing mitigation, believing the project might exacerbate current housing struggled even if in compliance with all housing mitigation requirements.

Chambers expressed her frustration with balancing a development proposal that checked all the boxes on paper with one that would create a “massive building on a large chunk of property on Pearl.”

“My issues are with the process. The applicant is following the rules but the community does not want to see this kind of project. That is our fault,” Chambers said. “We don’t want ‘new west’ houses in east Jackson, but we don’t change the rules. People are only building what we tell them they can build.”

Chambers then addressed Jim Walters of CCC, “That corner is forever going to be remembered as what Crystal Creek Capital put there. Whatever you can do to address public opinion is to your benefit,” she said.

Council passed the sketch plan 4-1 with Jim Rooks opposed. The project will be back in front of town council for a look at the final development plan.