Dear editor:
Scott Hoversland, the Executive Director of the Wyoming Community Development Authority (“WCDA”), recently sent an email to legislators asking for more funding for “low-income” housing, stating;
"The WCDA provides financial incentives that help developers build or rehabilitate housing to be rented to low-income families at affordable rates" and their federally funded program, "is being used to build and preserve housing for Wyoming’s most economically vulnerable populations".
In 2021, the Teton County Housing Authority (“TCHA”) selected a local private developer (Snow King Partners) to build a “low-income” 48-unit housing complex. The Town of Jackson explained that senior citizens on fixed incomes and young people could not afford to live here.
The grant money for Snow King Partners came in part from the WCDA, along with local and state funds. To keep project costs low, the TCHA identified a “free” piece of land that was currently in use over at the fairgrounds and zoned for public use. Thousands of local residents opposed the development.
In the end, the Town of Jackson entered into a 99-year lease with Snow King Partners; the lease requires no payment from the developers to the Town (in other words, they get to use the Teton County Fairgrounds for free).
An additional $4.5 million in public dollars from different agencies was required to make the development viable.
The management company is paid a fee every month for a building they own. According to the WCDA, the development will turn into fair market housing in 30 years.
A private company also gets to pick who lives there (Ms. Norton publicly stated she did not want to manage the tenants in this building).
Given the cost of development in Teton County versus every other market in Wyoming, it is surprising that the WCDA would consider a project here. However, according to the Jackson Hole News and Guide,
"The council voted in favor of local Snow King Partners and Blueline Development for the project, despite their proposal running an estimated $153 more per square foot than the project's other applicant… Blueline Development is a Laramie company brought in on the local partners' proposal due to its extensive experience and success in gaining housing tax credits from the Wyoming Community Development Authority”.
It seems developers were picked based on their ability to garner favor with the WCDA.
To qualify for this taxpayer subsidized unit, the renter can make no more than $51,600 per year as a single person, and $79,740 for up to five people. In Teton County, only one person in the household needs to work 30 hours per week, 10 months per year, to receive housing assistance.
The TCHA website lists the following companies as having employees who live there:
TJ Maxx ($4.454 billion in revenue in 2023)
United Airlines ($2.6 billion in revenue in 2023)
Whole Foods ($20.01 billion in revenue in 2023)
Springhill Suites by Marriott ($4.5 billion in revenue in 2023)
Amangani, which is a privately held luxury hotel.
UPS ($24.9 billion in revenue in 2023)
Four Seasons ($986 million in revenue in 2023)
Avis ($1.6 billion in revenue in 2023)
Budget Car Rental ($1.6 billion in revenue in 2023)
This is a list of some of America’s most profitable companies. Jackson’s affordable housing developers have partnered with these companies to exploit an obvious loophole. They can have local taxpayers subsidize their employees’ living expenses.
To state the obvious, employees of these companies are not Wyoming’s “most economically vulnerable.” If you need more evidence, drive by the project and see the expensive cars in the parking lot of the Flat Creek Apartments (congratulations to the owner of the brand-new Ford Bronco!).
Legitimate questions remain unanswered about who the developer was at the Flat Creek Apartments, and whether the developer had conflicts.
It appears that successful local businessman Joe Rice was a developer of the complex. Mr. Rice is a local restauranteur and owns other businesses, and according to the TCHA website, at least three of his businesses have employees living there.
He has deep knowledge of Jackson’s affordable housing rules, and according to publicly available information, his developments have provided housing for his restaurant employees and other local employees.
His son-in-law, Tyler Davis, identified himself as the “Lead Developer” for Snow King Partners when he signed the RFP application in 2021, which clearly states, “Our team members include Joe Rice, Chris Lee, and Tyler Davis, along with BlueLine Development ….”
There is also an attached flow chart to the RFP packet with an entire bubble dedicated to Mr. Rice who is listed as the “Development Team.”
When April Norton, the director of the TCHA, announced her recommendation for the contract, she said, “The team that we are recommending to move forward, Snow King Partners…. Tyler Davis and Joe Rice.”
In the town meeting when the project was awarded to one of the applicants, Councilman Schechter even went so far as to ask Ms. Norton if one of the developers [Joe Rice] was going to pass off this project to someone else like he did the Sagebrush development once it was awarded to him, and she replied that Sagebrush was a private development, but this was a private/public partnership, and the developers were committed to this project.
Mr. Rice has publicly stated he only “attended one meeting”, but when you look at the minutes form the Housing Supply Board’s June 23, 2021, it states, “…Snow King Partners Interview….interviewed Tyler Davis, Christian Pritchett, Joe Rice, …. who represented the Snow King Partners team.”
The minutes went on to report, “Board and staff discussed the two teams. Board recommended moving forward with Snow King Partners team based on local experience and construction cost delta.”
It seemed like Mr. Rice just interviewed for the project and then was awarded the contract.
So, imagine my surprise to receive a Cease and Desist from Mr. Rice’s attorney a few months ago after writing a letter to the editor. It states, “…. intentionally highlighting that Joe was a potential partner in the initial stages of the development, without also clarifying that he ultimately never had any formal involvement or financial stake in the Development is an intentional misrepresentation that amounts to a falsehood….”
I am not trying to split hairs here, but if Joe has employees getting their housing subsidized by taxpayers, it does seem he has a financial stake in this project, while his competitors are forced to pay a living wage so their employees can pay fair market rent.
Also, if Mr. Rice never had any formal involvement, is it legal to list friends and family on an official RFP if he or they had nothing to do with this project? Finally, was the Town of Jackson aware they were awarding a project to someone who wasn’t even an applicant?
I have been trying to understand how Flat Creek Apartments selects people to live in the apartments, who audit the residents to make sure that they qualify, and how the building is managed. In a recent public records request, the TCHA said they do not keep up with a lot of this.
The WCDA told me that who lives there, who they work for, who the developers are (actual names), who manages the building and what the building manager is paid, is none of our business.
During the past few years, local developers have figured out that under the veil of “affordable housing” for the economically vulnerable, they can get taxpayers to subsidize their employees. The argument used to be to protect snowplow drivers, nurses, and teachers. This is going far beyond “essential services.” Taxpayers are the ones being taken for a ride.
Let’s defund the WCDA and hold the Flat Creek Apartments accountable.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Bextel, Jackson
