117-Acre Jackson Hole Compound That Couldn’t Be Built Today Sells For $39.5M

A Jackson Hole compound too large to build under today’s Teton County rules has sold for close to $39.5 million.

The compound, known as the Riva Ridge Reserve, went under contract in a little under a year, Live Water Properties associate broker Latham Jenkins told Cowboy State Daily. It was listed for $39.5 million, and sold for close to its list price.

As home sales in the valley go, it’s one of the higher ones but not the highest. Beating it was Camp Teton, Jenkins said. That’s a 55-acre estate listed for $65 million, which sold in 2021. 

The seller was Jan Lundberg, a renowned global pharmaceutical executive and the former president of Lilly Research Laboratories.

Lundberg led development portfolios for blockbuster drugs during his tenure at Eli Lilly, including popular weight-loss and diabetes treatment tirzepatide, marketed as Mounjaro for Type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for weight management. 

Lundberg and his wife, Ingeborg, acquired Riva Ridge Reserve in 2021 when it was listed for $33.9 million.

Last year, they decided to sell the legacy estate and move back to Europe for venture capital and board work.

The sale fits a trend Jenkins is seeing where luxury home buyers are prioritizing real estate with unique attributes that will hold their value well.

Jackson Hole’s eye-catching appreciation over the past 30 years has attracted many uber-wealthy buyers. 

“Luxury at this level is increasingly about irreplaceability,” Jenkins said. “Buyers can renovate a kitchen or rebuild an interior. What they can’t manufacture is 117 acres, protected by open space, extraordinary privacy, and that relationship to the landscape.”

A Wilderness Enclave

Riva Ridge’s architecture is reminiscent of a historic national park timber lodge and fits into a park-like setting that features the Tetons to the west, the National Elk Refuge to the north, and Jackson’s city lights in the distance. 

The Riva Ridge community where it sits, meanwhile, is a 500-acre enclave that has just seven lots.

Among the strict covenants for the neighborhood is a rule dictating that no two homes may be visible to one another. It’s a layout intended to leave each homeowner feeling as if they are living alone on a mountainside in complete wilderness solitude.

The property spans 117 acres, with roughly 70% of the land protected by conservation easements. 

It features three connected living-water ponds — although “pond” is something of a misnomer for the largest water body. It’s really just a plain old lake. 

A self-contained water system circulates water between these three bodies of water, creating flowing streams where cutthroat trout swim.

The largest pond lies just off the main mansion’s back patio, where it captures images of the Tetons. 

Large windowed spaces look out on the backyard pond, where wildlife frequently visit, including moose, elk, and deer.

The windows are framed by huge rustic timbers, adding to an illusion that wildlife are about to step right inside the home.

Inside The Home

Everything inside the home is just as epic as everything outside.

Riva Ridge Reserve was built by custom home builder JH Homes using rustic timbers meant to evoke the grand tradition of old lodges made with rustic timbers in Yellowstone National Park, such as Old Faithful Inn.

The floor-to-ceiling fireplace features riverside sandstone. Above the hearth, a portrait of a lone wolf stares down at the scene, bringing a sense of the wild inside. 

Polished wide-plank wood floors, artful antler chandeliers, and soft leather furniture round out the interior — all of which were included with the listing.

While Teton County generally limits new single-family residential habitable space to 10,000 square feet, Riva Ridge exceeds that threshold with three existing, grandfathered structures, according to the real estate listing. 

The estate includes a 12,705-square-foot main lodge, a 3,978-square-foot guest house, and a 1,695-square-foot garage studio. 

Despite the home’s massive total footprint, the home’s energy bill has never exceeded $700 per month, according to its real estate listing at Live Water Jackson Hole.

The entire compound is off-grid capable for at least one year, thanks to a 5,000-gallon propane tank buried beneath the garage that connects to a 45-kilowatt generator. 

Beyond its self-sufficiency, the home’s luxury features include a private gym complete with locker room, Finnish sauna and steam room, an expansive game room and a 1,800-bottle wine cellar and tasting room.

“This was a great outcome for a very unusual property,” Jenkins said. “It took patience to find the right buyer, but properties like this deserve someone who understands they are becoming the next steward of something increasingly rare in Jackson Hole.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.