Jackson’s  The Loop 'luxury' apartments 'default' after failing to fill workforce rentals, officials say

Apartment complex defaulted on ‘workforce’ housing, officials say.

JACKSON — Town and county officials say The Loop, the new South Park Loop luxury apartment complex tied to a megahotel downtown, is in “default.”

The reason?

Officials from the Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing Department say The Loop has failed to fill workforce housing units with local workers as required under town and county rules. In response, The Loop has reduced rent for workforce studio apartments from $3,005 to $2,750, according to Housing Department Director April Norton, in an email.

For years, advocates of workforce housing, which is not price restricted, have argued that building more of the units, which are only available to Teton County workers, will create a “market-within-a-market.” As more units come online, some advocates have said, prices will drop as supply balances with demand. Because of the lack of price restrictions, workforce housing can be expensive — cheaper than free-market housing, but significantly pricier than price-capped “affordable” units.

But how the Loop’s price adjustment fits into that picture is unclear.

Norton did not respond to phone calls or an emailed list of follow-up questions about the default.

For housing advocates like Clare Stumpf, the executive director of Shelter JH, the cheaper rent rates are not only good for renters but a sign the town and county’s workforce housing program is, indeed, working.

“Providing different kinds of deed restricted units is about providing choices for community members who don’t have access to our exorbitantly expensive free market,” Stumpf said.

Developers have 60 days after receiving a certificate of occupancy to rent out “affordable” or “workforce” apartments restricted for people who earn most of their income from a local business. If they don’t rent the apartments, the Housing Department sends a default letter.

“Once they are in default, they have 30 days to cure (lease the units),” Norton wrote in a May 19 email. “Developers typically reduce their rental rates in an effort to cure.”

Neither Norton nor Keith Gingery, Teton County’s chief deputy county attorney, responded to a request for the default letter.

Mitch Kuck, a community manager with RPM Living, the Austin, Texas, property management company operating the development, said The Loop wasn’t familiar with the Housing Department’s letter. He was not, however, concerned about filling apartments in time.

“We’re very closely monitoring market rates to make sure that you know the workforce housing program is successful,” Kuck said.

Utah-based Mogul Capital built The Loop in part to fulfill housing requirements for its megahotel slated for Jackson’s northern gateway. The Town Council approved plans for that development a year ago despite widespread community consternation. The firm hosted an open house last summer to drum up interest in the ritzy The Loop apartment complex and announced rental rates for market-rate units between $2,999 a month for a studio and $5,900 a month for a three-bedroom.

Mogul Capital CEO Brad Wagstaff did not respond to an emailed request for comment sent Friday.

9 vacant rentals

In the buildings that Kuck manages that are currently available for rent, there are 97 apartments. Of those, 62 are market-rate rentals, 34 are designated as “workforce” units and one is “affordable,” where residents’ income is restricted and rent price controlled.

Of the 34 workforce apartments, The Loop has leased 25, leaving nine workforce rentals in that building open. The Loop has leased 60 of the 62 market-rate apartments, Kuck said, and RPM Living is running promotions to attract new tenants.

“We are offering a month free rent,” Kuck said.

The apartment complex is also offering a “preferred employer program,” where local businesses get administration fees refunded when they move employees in, Kuck said. The management company is also offering a deal where residents who move in before June 30 are entered into a drawing to win a 50-inch television.

Plans call for 194 apartments once the apartment complex is fully online. Of those, 58 are set to be available for rent at market rate, 119 are set to be workforce and 17 are set to be affordable.

Cheaper rent

People are quick to jump to conclusions about whether workforce homes or affordable homes are better for addressing the community’s housing needs, Stumpf said. That misses something in her mind. Both workforce and affordable homes meet housing needs for different community members, she says.

Income restrictions that apply to affordable homes keep prices low but can be restrictive in their own way, Stumpf said. Families, whose incomes exceed what affordable housing regulations allow, may still not be able to afford free-market homes, Stumpf said. For those families, workforce housing may offer a solution.

“They’re all complementary programs,” Stumpf said. “Disparaging one for the other assumes that there’s a one size fits all approach, and we know that there’s not.”

This story was published on May 27, 2026.