490 Applications for 7 Affordable Homes in Jackson Hole

Housing affordability continues to be a challenge for many residents of Jackson Hole as evidenced by the 490 applications received for 7 affordable homes in Wilson, at the base of Teton Pass.

Homes were priced between $155,000 and $233,000 placing them well within the range of housing options available in the Victor marketplace.

With limited land supply and a Draft Comprehensive Plan currently working through Public Consultation, Jackson Hole will continue to face challenges in addressing Affordable Housing.

With the bedroom community of Victor, ID just 20 minutes drive over the Pass from Wilson, home seekers have plenty of incentive to broaden their search.

Information Courtesy of Cara Froedge, Jackson Hole Daily.

Jackson Hole Ranks 3rd in the World for Adventure

Tourism Review.com ranked Jackson Hole, WY 3rd in the World behind Valdez, AK and Vancouver, BC as an Adventure Sports Destination.

The article reads;
"Outdoor sports have become a massive hit in the last decades and people are thus searching for better places for their leisure activities. Over the years, certain places with particularly good access to rivers, mountains, surf, and other natural features have cultivated entire communities based on outdoor recreation."

Jackson Hole is the #1 destination in the Continental US and for many states, well within summer driving distance, making it also the #1 destination for your family vacation this year.

So stop by for a visit this summer. Call our office for advice in planning your trip.

National Geographic puts Valley on the Map

National Geographic has released its newest geotoursim map guide, which features the Greater
Yellowstone Region. On that map lies a yet-to-be-built Greater Yellowstone Geotourism Center in Driggs. This gives Driggs a tourism endorsement from National Geographic that’s “worth its weight in gold,” said Chamber of Commerce President Reid Rogers, who is spearheading the initiative.

The map effort sparked an initiative by Rogers to establish a geotoursim center in Driggs. And though the center is on the map, it could be sometime before an actual building exists. Rogers explained that the Teton Scenic Byway Committee had similar goals to that of the geotourism map project. The byway committee, of which Rogers is a member, has received federal grant money for a gateway center for eastern Idaho. Since the project had similar goals, Rogers approached National Geographic and they agreed to endorse the project if they called it a regional center. Rogers said as far as actual construction of the building, National Geographic wouldn’t be responsible, but would provide several indoor exhibits such as an interactive Web station, a 3-D map of the Tetons and life-size maps and descriptions of geotourism.

But getting the actual building has several hurdles. Rogers said they are waiting to hear if they’ll receive grant money for a Community Development Block Grant. Part of that grant would provide money for some infrastructure needs that could potentially tear apart ground in front of the current city center. Rogers said they are also working with the Idaho Department of Transportation which is eligible for some funds to improve Highway 33 in 2011. Rogers said it would make sense to coordinate all those projects since they are nearly in the same spot. But now that the geotourism center is on the map, there “is more incentive to hurry,” he said. He said he hopes to possibly start construction by this fall.

Information courtesy of Rachael Horne, Teton Valley News.

Lodging Tax Receipts Up in Teton Valley

Extract from the Teton Valley Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Activity and Events Report –March, 2009

The state reported the status of lodging tax collection from July, 08 to January, 09. Much of the state was down in collections which is not a surprise given the current condition of the economy. The state forecasts a total decline in lodging revenue of 15% year on year (July 08 to January
09.)

For the above seven month period, however, four of the seven state regions posted overall declines. North Idaho and the two eastern Idaho regions posted a gain of which our region was the clear winner, up 2.26% overall. Of the tourism and regional hot spots, Coeur d 'Alene was up 1.82%, Ada County was down 12.97%, Valley County was down 6.20%, Teton County was up
10.92%, Bonneville County was up 1.83%, Blaine County was down 3.65%.

It is gratifying to see that the efforts the TVCC and our community have been putting forth did come back in a quantitative way and showed us that we are headed in the right direction.