Our Mall has gone “belly up” which is not at all unusual. Just walking through it you can’t help but notice a lot of empty space. Add to that a tough economy and you come up with an inability to pay your bill to the bank.
It could be a lot worse, the city could have been holding the paper, but thankfully it was not. This should be a warning, sort of a “shot across the bow” of our subconscious when considering the the multi-million dollar hockey rink; sometimes the money just isn’t there. Maybe Eric could sign his house over to help secure it. Our taxes are high enough now.
In truth it is a terrible thing that has occurred, no one wants to see things like this in our community….but it is what it is. The Mall will not close, it will remain the way it is only thing different is the bank will collect the rent for the store fronts that are occupied. There was a time in America when the goal in thousands of communities was to have a Mall. Especially in the Northern and Midwestern climes where it gets cold enough to freeze your heart if you step out the door.
When our Mall opened the square foot rent reached $21.00 a square foot plus a percentage of your gross sales. Hard to do unless you were a nation chain store and could cost average your operational overhead. Otherwise you might as well just worked for the Mall because they would have received the majority of the fruits of your labor.
These many years later utility costs have risen along with other unforeseeable consequences such as insurance and labor, recession and unemployment; these are all devastating factors that hamper success.
When I was young all the farmers were poor, land was $150.00 an acre, corn hovered around $2.00 a bushel; now farmers are rich, the government guaranteed their crop, corn is over $6.00 a bushel and we put it in our tank to run the car and land exceeds $7,500.00 an acre. What’s the moral of this story? Simply this, when the Mall developers came here to look things over, they looked at the wrong land to invest in……
Peter Children
And there are kids drinking on top of it! Shut it down.
Peter get a life. The mall has been paid for. The company that owns the mall has used it for collateral to continue investing in other areas. Your lack of any for site and many others is why Mason City is stuck. Try to find something positive here or MOVE. North Iowa will not miss you!!!!!!!
It may have been paid for at one time but now it is in recevership and the U.S. Bank owns it. How stupid are you anyway. You think the story in the Globe was make believe?
This mall is being foreclosed on it is not paid off. people are starting to wake up in this area that what is being reported to them is a lie. This mall and town is dead and we need leaders who will not try to hide that fact but will look for ways to bring good jobs here. Oh yea the civic center is the dumbest idea any leader has had in a long time.
If there is a note against the mall, it has not been “paid for”. As long as that note exists, you do not have ownership. Paint it in any color you wish, it is still whitewash.
It is contended that no payments had been made since July 2011, to the tune of $10 million and change.
I have said it before and I will say it again, building the mall where it is killed downtown Mason City. If you ever want to resurect the town, tear it down and make Federal a through street again. I am pretty sure the city just finished paying off the the expense we had for the mall just a couple of years ago. The civic center would just be another failure in a long line of failures. Bring in good paying jobs and quit screwing around with those of us who are left in town.
I agree with all the statement made here today. bookmeyer wants something he can leave his name when he is out of office in less than 2 years now. I wonder if they’ll have the guts to still want the center. My guess is yes!
I agree Peter. As I’ve said before, not the right time nor the right design for the events/civic center.
If either JCP or Younkers leaves, the mall will close. I hope that doesn’t happen.I remember when the mall first opened.It was a thing of beauty and packed all the time.Different time and better economy.
Wasn’t it said that Bookmeyer’s legacy was written on the side of a beer truck?
They wont give up on this dream since they have no legacy. Nothing to show for being in office, especially the mayor, except for attempt to shut down human rights and the publics speaking forum.