MASON CITY – The city council will continue to work with landlord Russ Hardy on properties the city wants to see rehabbed.
At a council work session held Wednesday night, Mr. Hardy attended and told the council he has met all of their objectives in the progressive rehab of properties at the 1300 block of North Federal. He indicated he wants to put a bar or restaurant in the location of the former Alley Katz bar and he has the upstairs apartments pretty much ready to be moved into.
The council offered their understanding of Mr. Hardy’s situation. Scott Tornquist said he understood not fixing up a property if there was no tenant to go into it. Travis Hickey said he’d like to see Mr. Hardy finish his projects in a more deliberate manner versus piecemeal. Jean Marinos wants to arrange meetings with people who live and own property in the North End neighborhoods to come together for discussions on how to transform the area into a vibrant destination “as it once was”.
Mr. Hardy declared that the North End should instead be referred to as the “Historic North Village” to start changing people’s perceptions of the area. He vowed to follow the direction of the council and city staff, including Steven J. Van Steenhuyse, Director of the Development Services Department, in finishing the rehab of his buildings.
The council and their legal advisor, Randy Nielsen, may still pursue legal means to condemn or tear down other properties, for example, 1011 North Federal Avenue, which is being used for storage at this time.
A petition now with over 400 signatures, spearheaded by realtor Pam Hildebrand, may yet make its way to the council. The work session has taken some of the thunder out of the petition, as word got back to the council and mayor that citizens were rallying through the petition to push them to take action on the North End dilemma. Now that the council has more or less decided their course of action (more meetings) on reviving the North End, it is unclear what the petition may accomplish once or if it is turned in.
Watch entire discussion:
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