MASON CITY – According to information coming to NIT, Mason City’s downtown development involving a hotel, parking ramp, pavilion, mixed-use building and ice arena (so-called downtown “Renaissance”) is changing dramatically.
So far, city hall will not release any information about the changes that are apparently developing with this project – all they will say is they have a “contingency plan” in place if (when?) San Diego developer Philip Chodur (who is suing city of La Vista, CA for a failed development) does not come through with financing to build his hotel next to city hall.
According to our sources, Philip Chodur will not come through with financing for the Hotel that was first promised back in 2013. (A phone call to G8 Development today (619-354-8736) was met with a voice recording for a woman named Angela Hodgdon. A second call was answered by Hogdon, and several questions for Mr. Chodur were left as a message, which she wrote down and promised to give him.) He has a deadline of October 31 here in MC to break ground. The state has not come through with $10 million the city asked for. The mall has been sold to an out-of-state owner with a questionable history. NIT is told that now, a new developer has been brought in to city hall behind the scenes and is in discussions to build a hotel in connection to the Younker’s store in the mall. The parking ramp would be built where the former Bank of America building now stands. City hall, our sources say, is desperate for this project – as a whole – to go ahead. NIT is attempting to make sure the citizens and taxpayers of Mason City are kept in the loop here, as they deserve to be.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE FROM CITY HALL:
“Sale of Southbridge Mall was announced on September 26. The mall was purchased by Kohan Retail Investment Group from New York state. Mr. Trout has sent the draft lease agreements to Kohan so that negotiations can begin with the new owners. The sale of the mall was a major issue to be resolved prior to final approval of our Reinvestment District application.”
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Things went sour between Mr. Chodur and the city of Vista, California, when their deal fell apart. Let’s hope Mason City is not next if his hotel deal with the city goes bad. Mr. Chodur’s (G8 Development) “Breach of Contract” case with Vista, CA has been in court over 400 days now. Civil Jury Trial set for April 21, 2017. Sometimes, city governments settle for big dollars.
just remember all this when election time comes for mayor and council. talk big now and talk big then
Why do people say,; the mall should have never been built. That may be, but it was built and theres no going back in time.
Because it was another snow job by the city officials of the time. It was a scratch my back type of deal with Tom Jolas screwing the taxpayers.
We (the taxpayers paid 27 million for that mall and it just sold for a million and a half. Where is our tax money? Now they want to spend more tax money on something that will fail too.
Tom Jolas wasn’t in office when the mall was built!! It was Ken Kew. Take a look: http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/25/us/the-talk-of-mason-city-there-s-substance-to-the-bragging-in-river-city.html
Philip chodur owns the small lot next to my dads on 4th and mass. here in town. The grass is mowed once every few months, and the snow was not removed once last year. It ended in my dad receiving a ticket for not removing the snow on the sidewalk. I removed the snow myself, and had to start taking video after doing so, due to city hall refusing to admit the stretch of sidewalk wasnt my fathers. $90 each time is the charge the city hands out for the stretch that wasnt done. If he is unable to pay for appropriate yard care, he needs to sell me the property, or find someone willing to take care of it cheaper. Very displeased with this mans lack of responsibility, just because he lives out of state.
Lives out of state – and quite possibly the mayor is protecting him. I saw Bookmeyer and Chodur driving around in Alex Kuhn’s BMW this spring/summer. They were all hanging out.
Is Philip Chodur originally from Mason City?
Bookmeyer is driving this bus and like other projects he backed, this one is headed straight for the ditch.
A 7-year mayor with nothing to show for it but tearing the town apart. Nothing but more weeds and crooks roaming the streets. Presides over a clown show twice a month. Thanks, Erich.
Another bogus project by our worthless mayor and his croney’s. Chodur ran around town buying up vacant property on contract that he will never honor now. Ask them about it.
A rumor is floating around that the Mall was leased to the Obama/Clinton mafia corporation and will be used to house 500 syrian/muslim refugees. Wow! Finally Masonic city will have a population increase. This was a finalized after the porky plant fell thru – cause U know who don’t like porky.
The mall destroyed our down town businesses and everything moved to the strip west of town – This was all planned by large democratic owned corporations well in advance – This new project is a scam that will burden the taxpayers/destroy the downtown even more – just a multi million dollar boondogel to enrich the contractors who have already promised a 10% kickback to the group that gets it passed. $$$$$$$$
Planned by democrats? Yeah, right….MacNider is the one making the money out west and I don’t think he has ever been anything but a conservative republican.
The mall should have never been built, the old downtown stores had quality and unique goods, the mall has zero individual personality, same mass cookie cutter junk production stores owned by the big corporations/sorcerers.
If there are changes to this project, they MUST present them IN FULL to the public. I also think any venture of the cost and magnitude should go to a public vote/referendum. Perhaps scrape it, cost our losses and bring the public in to discuss other options and ideas.
If the plan has changed drastically then hopefully the mayor and council will be forthcoming with information and not try to rush it thru. Didn’t seem to sit well with the citizens last time they tried that and the people rose up to have their opinions and feeling heard.
Naysayer Marquart at it again. Get a life your site sucks and you suck. Read your mail to find out what in store for you assclown.
Matt-Now you have a IP Address to go with the threats you have been getting.
Holy sh*t I’m glad I moved out of Mason when I did, you people are fracked!
What is the hotel for, all of the pig processing conventions that were to be held in town? And what is a “parking ramp?” Seems like money for construction companies to me.
People like you wrecked our big chance I suppose you joined PETA and never ate a pork chop? No I know you do everday so just shut up your opinoin dont matter. We’ll get the next plant wait and see.
What a waste of time and money. I said right from the start that the whole thing was a farce. It is disintegrating right before their eyes. Kill the project and put the money into other parts of town other than the west side.
why do we throw good money after bad? How many dollars have the taxpayer lost downtown already?
What downtown or Mason City attraction would draw people to fill these motels?
I would lie to see current occupancy of the FLW?
From my vantage point, Bookmeyer is hell-bent on this deal going all the way through no matter what. His lackey, Travis Hickey, told a group of us that the mall will fill up with stores and restaurants once the arena is built. The arena is the “attraction” in their eyes.
What a bunch of Bull. Hockey has just a very small percentage of the population (mostly parents) who support it. The rest of us don’t. It is not a draw anymore than the current rink is.
This project has been a clusterfu*k from the beginning.
You can pretty much bet that this whole thing is going down the tubes and fast.
When you have two major sketchy players like Chodur & Bookmeyer in the mix, the proverbial shit is going to hit the fan.
They are both blowhard liars and just the opposite of the “the Midas touch”, with these two ass-clowns everything that they touch turns to shit.
Bookmeyer is the worst POS to ever sit in the MC mayors chair.
This doesn’t sound good. I think that somebody has bit off more then they can chew. Delusions of Grandeur for sure.