From the city of Mason City –
The City of Mason City and our partners received notification from the Iowa Economic Development Authority that we received a qualifying score on our Iowa Reinvestment District pre-application. The score is above the required points to be considered for funding through the program. The City of Mason City is has been officially invited to present to the Iowa Economic Development Authority Board, among only four other cities throughout the state of Iowa. Mason City will present on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 1:00 pm in Des Moines.
The Mason City Downtown Reinvestment District – “Our River City Renaissance” encompasses the historic heart of Mason City. The district includes vacant and underutilized existing infrastructure appropriate for reinvestment that will provide new lodging, retail and entertainment opportunities that emphasize walkability and downtown character. The district also includes Mason City’s iconic Southbridge Mall, representing the City’s commitment to redevelopment and our responsiveness to contemporary retail trends and needs of the community.
“The City of Mason City is appreciative of the opportunity to present to the IEDA Board Our River City Renaissance project. The project is an exciting public – private partnership that will impact our community in an extremely positive way through the re-purposing of Southbridge Mall in to a sports and entertainment venue for the North Iowa region,” said Council Member Alex Kuhn. The project consists of a Multi-Purpose Arena to have ice sports events and other sporting events and concerts, a 96 room downtown hotel, parking structure, performing arts pavilion, and mixed used development.
“This project has earned as broad a base of community support as any that we have worked on. There is no end to the line of citizens calling us, emailing us, stopping us in the stores and on the practice fields to express their support for Our River City Renaissance,” said Mayor Eric Bookmeyer. The project is supported by many organizations and individuals in the community. The youth sports programs are in need of this type of facility. The project is being funded through the use of state grant monies, private donations, tax increment financing, and local option sales tax funds. The funding sources do not include general obligation bonds, general fund money and will not result in an increase in taxes.
