The historic homes that formerly served as St. John’s Hospital nurses’ quarters at 157 and 165 N. Glenwood St. adjacent to an ongoing upscale condo development still have life.
How long-lived that life is and where it might be remains unsettled, however.
Jackson town councilors and Nick Orthmann — a project manager for Bear Development, which owns the historic homes and the land upon which they sit — on Monday night discussed and debated a proposed 90-day stay of demolition at the site.
The stay was recommended by the Teton County Historic Preservation Board, which, along with valley resident Brigid Mander and others, has been trying to save the historic structures, whether on the land they currently sit or by moving them to another location for preservation.
Mander has undertaken her own yearslong “Save the Block” campaign of sorts and was critical of the town’s efforts to preserve existing housing in a July story in the Jackson Hole News&Guide. (To view it,visit JHNewsAndGuide.com and type “Brigid Mander” in the search field near the upper right-hand corner.)
Councilors’ tone on Monday indicated that they are very interested in saving the Glenwood Street homes. Some, such as Councilor Jonathan Schechter, questioned why the 90-day stay would be problematic, noting that Orthmann said Bear Development wants to have the structures removed from the properties by the end of the year. A 90-day stay, Schechter pointed out, would expire in mid-December.
“With all these moving parts, I just don’t see what the downside is if there’s a chance to save the buildings,” Schechter said.
“And if we can get them off of there sooner than 90 days, that’s a de facto shorter than the 90-day extension,” he said. “And if it takes that long and we can’t make it happen, then at least we gave it every try within our tool[box].”
But Orthmann said it’s important for the developers to be able to move forward on utility work and site preparation so that if the houses are moved, Bear Development can stick to its construction schedule. The stay, as presented, would preclude the company from undertaking that work until the stay expired or was lifted.
Orthmann assured the council that Bear Development is not trying to fast-track the demolition of the structures. In fact, he said, the developers “want to be good stewards of the property and work with the community and see what we can do to save these buildings and hopefully preserve them in Jackson for years to come.”
He later added, “It’s about more than just the buildings. We’re just kind of looking to stay on track with all of the other moving parts.”
Orthmann also said that Bear Development is “willing to participate financially, somehow, in the moving of these structures.”
Orthmann did not give a firm dollar figure the company would be willing to chip in, but said that “we want to see this happen and we’re willing to work with all the stakeholders involved.”
Some councilors remained leery of not having some protections in place, despite Orthmann’s affirmation that Bear Development is merely interested in conducting site prep and utility work and is in no rush to tear down the buildings, along with Vice Mayor Arne Jorgensen pointing out that the developers have acted in good faith for more than a year, having already had one demolition permit issued that they did not exercise on all of the buildings.
The discussion then turned to possibly bifurcating the permit, to allow for the site and utility work while still protecting the structures for up to 90 days.
Community Development Director Tyler Sinclair said that though it’s not a normal process, perhaps the applicant could submit applications for two separate demo permits: one for work needing to be done beneath the ground and a second one relating to the above-ground buildings.
Councilor Jessica Sell Chambers urged the council to table the issue until its next regular meeting on Oct. 4 — and ultimately made a motion to do so — in order to give town staff time to figure out the specific mechanisms available and bring them back to council to decide.
Chambers’ motion passed unanimously, though Mayor Hailey Morton Levinson urged the council to be prepared to not spend as much time deciding on the item at the next meeting. Councilor Jim Rooks was absent from Monday night’s meeting.
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September 22, 2021 at 04:30AM
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Historic Glenwood St. homes still spared, though fate remains uncertain - Jackson Hole News&Guide
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