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Mason City officials scrambling to salvage downtown “Renaissance Project”

Mason City's Younkers store, at Southbridge Mall
Mason City’s Younkers store, at Southbridge Mall

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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California court records: 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.
California court records:
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.
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