JACKSON, Wyo. — The Jackson Hole Land Trust is thrilled to announce that the Greenspace on the Block is complete! A piece of forever-protected paradise on the Genevieve Block in the heart of downtown Jackson, the Greenspace on the Block is the Jackson Hole Land Trust’s newest community conservation property and ensures all residents of the valley have access to the open space within it.
In 2019, this community spoke decisively to protect the Block. The Jackson Hole Land Trust’s Save the Block campaign rallied more than 2,600 residents from all walks of life, raising more than $7 million to conserve the historic character and community value of the Genevieve Block.
Since closing, the JHLT and partners including Hershberger Design have been hard at work to improve the greenspace and open it to the community. Local businesses Café Genevieve, Persephone, and Healthy Being Juicery have since bought their easement-protected spaces, and the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum has taken over the southeast corner lot, ensuring these pillars of our community have a place within it.
A symbol of this community’s commitment to the future livability of Jackson Hole, the Greenspace on the Block harkens back to the town’s past. Thanks, in part, to a grant from Teton Conservation District, Cache Creek will flow seasonally through the space as it did up until the 1970s when severe flooding led city planners to construct a tube under the town of Jackson to divert the creek.
The Greenspace on the Block will join a small group of properties where Cache Creek is “daylighted” through town. While these isolated appearances are not sufficient to reignite the ecological function of this diverted waterway, it is the hope of the JHLT and our partners that restoring the creek through the greenspace will provide a window to the past and inspire future conservation and resource stewardship in the valley.
Mark your calendar for a community “grand opening” celebration on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, and in the meantime, we invite you to enjoy this community space with family and friends.
Support future programming at the Greenspace on the Block by making a gift to the Jackson Hole Land Trust through Old Bill’s Fun Run. Donate anytime between now and September 17 at 5 pm and your gift to the JHLT will be leveraged by a partial match!
Need further inspiration? Check out this short video.
