A new resort is officially on the way just over the county line from Jackson Hole. Sublette County has approved a commercial building permit for The Confluence, a resort planned along the Hoback River near Bondurant by billionaire and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. If you drive the Hoback Canyon toward Pinedale, this project will soon be part of the landscape.
What's being built
The permit, approved at the end of September, covers the following:
- A 47,300-square-foot lodge with 20 guest suites
- A wellness center and a restaurant
- A 46,800-square-foot underground parking structure
According to the permit application, construction is expected to begin this fall and wrap up by 2031. A second phase, which would add cabins on the property, still needs separate approval.
A scaled-back version of the original plan
The Confluence is a smaller, less high-end version of what Ricketts first proposed for this ranch. In July 2024, he abandoned an earlier, larger resort plan after construction requirements meant to protect wintering moose and elk drove costs up. A spokesperson for Ricketts said the new design reflects the feedback he received and is geared toward families and couples who come to the area for outdoor recreation.
Why there was no public hearing this time
Because this permit was administrative, it didn't go before the county's planning commission or board of commissioners. That step happened in 2021, when the county approved rezoning 56 acres of Ricketts' nearly 1,300-acre ranch from agricultural to recreational service. That rezoning drew opposition from some Sublette County residents at the time, and some locals still have concerns about development in the Hoback corridor.
Jobs and workforce housing
According to Ricketts' team, the resort will bring hundreds of construction jobs and 50 full-time positions. To house staff, Ricketts has bought and is remodeling a hotel in Pinedale, purchased cabins there that will provide six housing units, and is building three fourplexes. In a region where workforce housing is a constant challenge, how employers house their teams matters to the whole community.
The bigger picture
Ricketts has a significant footprint in the area as both a developer and a conservationist. He contributed $750,000 to the effort to buy out natural gas leases on 58,000 acres in the Hoback River Basin, and he hosts an annual conservation symposium for scientists and land managers. He also owns White Pine Resort and much of the Renegade, Wyoming community, and he's pursuing another resort, The Hawken, on a private inholding in the Granite Creek drainage.
His team describes The Confluence as a way to combine economic investment with conservation, arguing that visitors who experience the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem will better understand why it's worth protecting. Critics of resort development in the area see it differently and worry about the impact on wildlife and the rural character of places like Bondurant.
What it could mean for the area
For anyone watching land and home values in the Hoback and Bondurant area, this is worth following. New hospitality projects can bring jobs, amenities, and attention to a quieter part of the region, and they can change the character of a place. How the second phase unfolds, and how the community responds, will shape what this corner of Wyoming looks like over the next several years.
If you're curious about property in the Hoback corridor, Sublette County, or anywhere on either side of the pass, we're always happy to talk it through.-Jennifer and Rachael
Source: Jackson Hole Daily / Jackson Hole News&Guide.
