JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming
Resisting Recession in the Rockies
by Colleen Birch Maile
From Main Street to Wall Street, the nation seems awash in economic gloom. However, in Rocky Mountain resort areas, talk of downturn is met with little more than a shrug and a smile. The positive attitude isn’t limited to A-list resorts such as Aspen and Jackson Hole. Communities neighboring these playgrounds of the rich and richer also retain their optimism against a tide of recessionary rumblings.
Consider the string of communities hugging the Idaho line east of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This is an up-and-coming paradise, an easy drive from Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee ski resorts and Grand Teton National Park. It benefits from the same stunning views, abundant wildlife and blue-ribbon fishing streams that made Jackson Hole one of the nation’s richest zip codes. Its potential is not lost on well-heeled investors.
Tiny Driggs, Idaho, a ranching community and newly discovered second-home hot spot, is being transformed by Huntsman Springs, an undertaking of Jon Huntsman, the billionaire philanthropist and industrialist.
Huntsman Springs Development Director Bill Reid explained, “So far we’ve donated well over $2 million to the county for a new courthouse. There have also been donations to the local high school for athletic facilities. It’s a wonderful thing to be involved in. Once the Huntsman family puts their name on something, there’s no question about the quality and the integrity,” he said. “Jon Huntsman, Sr. grew up in Blackfoot, Idaho (about 100 miles to the west), and he’s loved the Teton Valley for a very long time. As an avid fly fisherman, he has a home here. This project helps ensure that the valley develops in such a way that it will be all the things it can be.”
The 1,350-acre project just off Driggs’ Main Street is billed as “smart growth” for its inclusion of open space and conservation efforts. When completed it will include a 300-room hotel, 18-hole golf course designed by David Kidd, and 650 residences including townhouses, cabins and single-family homes. Approximately 500 acres will remain open space. A small buffalo herd will continue to roam the property. Reclamation efforts are rehabilitating former cattle grazing lands.
Reid comes to the project after a long career developing golf course properties throughout the nation. He said that Huntsman Springs is being well-received by people “reaching out for a quieter time and the opportunity to have control in your life. I’ve lived in lots of places—Florida, Arizona, California, Connecticut. Here the quality of air, the reduction in traffic, the ability to see stars in the night sky is unsurpassed.”
Reid has plenty of company when it comes to singing the praises of Teton Valley. Five miles south of Driggs and just two miles from equally tiny Victor, Idaho, Teton Reserve is a golf-centric development. Homes are replete with all the high-end amenities typical of real estate in more exclusive resort markets. Prices are significantly less. “We have homes that are similar to what you’d find in Jackson or Sun Valley [where even townhouses come with a six-figure price tag] for $799,900.” Project Manager Mike McCarthy explained.
Recently, the partners in Teton Reserve determined that the market was right for a fractional ownership offering. It’s now possible for buyers to purchase the Teton Valley lifestyle by buying fully deeded one-eighth interests in turnkey homes. Fractional interests start at $139,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath lodge loaded with upscale amenities.
McCarthy, who recently returned from an international symposium on fractional ownership, effused about the concept’s advantages. “The average second-home owner uses their vacation place less than a month out of the year. With a fractional interest you have all the advantages of second-home ownership and none of the headaches. It makes sense for many reasons.”
An intricate scheduling system assures owners specific weeks of residency throughout the year. “If they want to come at other times and we have availability in a property comparable to the one they own, we do our best to accommodate those dates as well.” McCarthy explained.
All Teton Reserve owners—those who purchase a wholly owned property and those who buy a fractional interest—benefit from players’ privileges at the nation’s only 18-hole reversible golf course. Designed by Hale Irwin, it includes 16 greens with alternate tee boxes. “Approached from different directions, they still have to be receptive. So, Hale Irwin had to create a primary routing that also could be played in the opposite direction. On any given day the course actually changes directions,” McCarthy noted. “The grounds people are trained to make the switch. Signage has to change, too. Our 18 holes are actually four different courses. It’s an old tradition. The Old Course at St. Andrews is also reversible. This is the first in the U.S. We’re quite proud of it.”
There are other reasons to be proud of his property’s potential. While McCarthy acknowledges that the valley is not experiencing the same “land rush we saw in late 2006 and 2007, it’s still a healthy market. There is so much to do here—hiking, biking, world-renowned fly-fishing. Of course skiing. I am so glad to be in Idaho.”
As is Gretchen Peter and the rest of the team at Valley Properties, Inc., developers of The Residences at Thunder Springs, a 24-unit fractional development in the nation’s first destination ski resort—Sun Valley, Idaho. Like McCarthy’s project, Thunder Springs offers a one-eighth interest and access to all the amenities enjoyed by those who fully own homes in the development. The price tags are significantly higher—$465,000 for an interest in a three-bedroom condo. Golf privileges at the nine-hole Bigwood Course and membership in the immense Zenergy health club and day spa are available to all owners. The state-of-the-art recreational facility includes indoor tennis and squash courts, a wealth of training options and an elaborate salt-water aquatics center that features connected indoor and outdoor pools comfortably heated year-round.
“We’ve been wanting to do a fractional in the Sun Valley area for about 15 years,” Peter, Valley Properties’ executive director of marketing, said. “We anticipate it will be an easy sell on lots of fronts. We have a highly targeted audience in our own homeowners. Some will buy because they’re downsizing or want a condo for guests or staff members. We also expect a great deal of interest from the friends of people who already own a home here. The service and amenities we provide are very important to our future success. So is this wonderful location.”
In Sun Valley, people continue to come for the winter and stay for the summer, according to Darlene Young, vice president and managing broker of Sotheby’s International Realty’s Sun Valley brokerage. Like all her counterparts in Idaho’s real estate industry, she remains buoyant about her state’s long-term potential.
“We aren’t completely recession-proof in that what happens in the rest of the country does have some effect on us, but our community is certainly set apart in many ways. We didn’t have bad lending practices here. We’ve seen very few foreclosures. Our buyers and sellers are typically financially solvent. Many of our properties are second homes, and they are purchased with discretionary funds; 45% of local transactions are paid for in cash.”
Those upscale buyers tend to “really care about this place,” she continued. “There’s a great sense of community. Our second homeowners tend to be extremely generous. They love it so much they’re willing to get involved to create more positive amenities. That all adds value to the area and evidences the confidence people have in the Wood River Valley,” she said. “Right now is a great time to buy into what is an amazing lifestyle. Some properties are offered at 2004 prices, and that means buyers are really interested. We are very, very busy.” she concluded.