Teton County commissioners and the Jackson Town Council on Sept. 30 unanimously approved a joint motion to extend the development-agreement timeline and the ground-lease option for the Penrose-led housing project at 90 Virginian Lane to Dec. 31, 2025.

The extension preserves time for staff, town and county attorneys, and Penrose to finish a draft development agreement and to return with a financing agreement the boards can review before authorizing execution. April Norton, Teton County housing director, told the joint meeting that the development agreement is "really in its final form" and that staff is "very, very, very close" to having the documents ready.

The extension follows an original schedule in which the county purchased the site in August, issued an RFP in November, selected Penrose as developer in June 2024 and signed a ground-lease option in December 2024 with an initial target execution date of June 30, 2025; the parties previously agreed in May 2025 to move a deadline to September 2025.

During the discussion commissioners and councilors pressed staff on key operational and financial items the development agreement and a separate financing agreement will address. Norton said the development agreement will set obligations for the housing authority (the landowner), the developer and the project program — including the number and mix of units, parking ratios and a parking-management plan, open-space and HOA terms, timelines for permit submissions and completion, affordability targets and phasing.

Norton said the draft now includes cores of those terms and that staff has made wording changes to avoid making the building department "beholden to a development agreement." She said the meeting is intended to buy time to finish interwoven items such as the parking plan, recording easements for a north-side pathway and a roundabout set-aside on the southwest corner, and finalizing the unit mix, phasing and affordability provisions.

The boards heard specific financial clarifications. Norton confirmed the town and county have committed a $10,000,000 public contribution to the development in addition to the county-owned land (discussed during the meeting as roughly $28 million to $29 million in land value). She said the timing and split of that $10,000,000 will be spelled out in a later financing agreement to be returned to the bodies for review.

On a question from Commissioner Probst about using the property as a temporary RV park to generate revenue before construction, Norton said the county purchased the land using tax-exempt bond financing and that there are limits on how much revenue the property can generate before the bond loses tax-exempt status. Norton explained, "we are only generating $500,000 there and it was an $18,000,000 bond deal," and legal counsel advised that renting the site could exceed the threshold and require paying taxes on the bonds.

Keith Kingery, deputy county attorney, added that Penrose is "really looking at breaking ground in the middle of the summer" and that trying to stage short-term rentals for part of a season would complicate the developer's planned construction start.

Commissioners asked about affordability and unit counts. Norton and staff said the draft development agreement will include programmatic requirements from the RFP. Norton confirmed the project is expected to include at least 200 units; a staff speaker later referenced "221 deed-restricted homes" as the project return tied to the public investment. Commissioners repeatedly discussed a cap on workforce units — staff said a maximum of 30 workforce units is in the current draft and was reflected in the RFP language under discussion.

On risk and cost, Norton told the boards staff will not recommend pursuing a development agreement the county cannot afford and that the previously discussed $30,000,000 funding gap would be "significantly lower" if a gap exists after more detailed design and cost estimating. Commissioner Gardner and others said they expect staff to present multiple financing options and scenarios when the project returns for formal approval.

Shannon Coxbaker, representing Penrose, confirmed that the developer would continue to explore structures such as profit-sharing arrangements as part of financing discussions. Norton and other staff said they plan to bring a development agreement and financing agreement back in November — possibly in two meetings if the boards need more time to review details — and that the agreements are interdependent: changes to the development agreement could affect the financing package.

Public commenters urged the boards to allow the extension. Claire Stumpf, executive director of Shelter GH, said the project could provide housing for hundreds of residents and asked the boards to "give this project the time it needs to succeed." Blanca Moya, a longtime nonprofit worker, spoke in Spanish through an interpreter about housing instability and supported moving the project forward. Neighbor Mike Yen, who lives across from the RV park, said he supports higher-density housing at the site and welcomed new neighbors.

The formal motion, made by Commissioner Macker and seconded by Commissioner Karlman, directed and authorized the Jackson Teton County Housing Authority to extend the development-agreement timeline and the ground-lease option to Dec. 31, 2025. The motion carried unanimously for both the county and the town; no roll-call vote with individual member votes was recorded in the transcript.

Next steps identified by staff include returning with a final development agreement and a financing agreement for review and formal authorization. Norton said staff aims to return in November and will offer a recommended package along with alternatives and financing scenarios for the boards to consider.