MASON CITY – Developer Philip Chodur is the odd man out of the controversial $38 million “Renaissance” project – but is still trying to build a hotel in Mason City.
Mr. Chodur – with long ties to Mason City – has been working with the city of Mason City (specifically, Eric Bookmeyer and the late Alex Kuhn, until Bookmeyer cut him out) on a downtown hotel that was first set to be built next door to city hall. We first heard about him 4 years ago, when city hall touted the idea of a downtown hotel and negotiations were just underway with Chodur’s G8 Development company out of San Diego. The deal got bigger in 2014, when the city tried to capture millions in state funds and package the hotel with a parking ramp, mixed-use building, pavilion, and multi-use arena, calling it the “Renaissance” project.
Three long years later, somewhere along the way, the city and Mr. Chodur got off track, and things are getting messy.
As NIT opinion-writer extraordinaire and Golden Pen Award winner Peter Children so eloquently reported back in early April, something happened on March 16 and 17 of this year that changed the complexion on the Renaissance project. “Something big. Days that will live in infamy. A real-life cou-de-ta. Everything turned around.
“Enter now Robin Anderson. Executive Director of the Mason City Chamber of Commerce. Some say she introduced David Rachie (of Gatehouse Capital) to Mason City … On those days of infamy, Robin Anderson, with the help of four council members, jumped and mugged Bookmeyer and wrestled the keys to city hall from his tight fists as he cowered in the corner. She introduced Gatehouse development who brought an entirely different perspective to the table. Suddenly the main player shifted….Bookmeyer was out and Robin Anderson moved to the number one power broker spot.”
When Anderson’s cou-de-ta went down, Bookmeyer’s work with G8 since 2013 was sidelined and the city selected Gatehouse Capital as the hotel developer of choice. Mr. Chodur and G8 were left to sweat on the table like a half-empty Moscow Mule with a cigarette butt in it.
With Chodur no longer the developer of choice, and having reportedly spent in the neighborhood of $600,000 to get his project off the ground, he has been in a bind. (Never mind the $600,000 or more the city has also already put into the project – with no dirt ever being turned over, nothing to show – that’s $1.2 million, folks.) No more city-owned parking lot to build in, for example. No more parking ramp. And, no more favorable news coverage from the Globe Gazette.
Thursday, the Globe claimed Councilman John Lee said, “I hope now all of our energy is with Gatehouse.” This, as the city readies itself to hand over $150,000 for “start-up costs” (called that by the Globe Gazette, also Thursday) plus a possible $4.25 million interest free loan to Gatehouse later. Meanwhile, Mr. Chodur questions why he has been left behind.
In a letter Mr. Chodur shared with NIT, he says he has been “bashed” by the Globe Gazette, and says it has been guilty of “reporting errors” over the course of this deal transforming.
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Mr. Chodur says he is “trying to understand why the City would even consider Gatehouse Capital’s proposal. The Request for Qualifications laid out specific requirements to be included in all responses. We responded to all items. Gatehouse responded to very few of the requested items. The biggest issue is a franchise for a branded hotel. They make people believe that they will provide a Courtyard by Marriott or similar brand. Marriott has told Gatehouse that they will not provide any Marriott brand for the Mason City area. Marriott has told Gatehouse that we hold the franchise and they will not work with any one else. We have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this project. We have not asked for a penny from the City. We designed the ramp for the City and provided the City with precast preliminary drawings. It is unbelievable that Gatehouse would even ask the City for a penny until they have procured a franchise. I believe their game is to milk the project for as much money as possible and get the City so invested that the City has no choice but to see the project to the bitter end.”
Mr. Chodur then asks what appears to be a very fair question – a question many, many citizens are demanding an answer to: What will the City get for this?
His answer: “The City will not have a branded hotel. The City will have a larger functionally obsolete Music Man Square that produces no tax revenue because of its 501c3 nonprofit status. The City will loose its grant money because Gateway will not be able to secure a hotel franchise. The City will be stuck with a huge gap to finance for Gatehouse. I would suggest that if the citizens and city officials are concerned about Music Man Square’s financial difficulties there should be a fundraiser and possible public subsidy rather than millions spent on a misguided venture with little or no public benefit.”
Mr. Chodur claims his hotel – that would have been built next to (west of) city hall – would be better for downtown businesses.
“I don’t understand why the business owners in the Central Business District aren’t raising hell with the Council members to put the hotel next to City Hall,” he explains. “This location will have the biggest impact on business downtown. Studies show that each occupant of a hotel room will spend roughly $50 per day in surrounding businesses. The City has invested heavily in downtown, the hotel will be the biggest possible game changer for the area. Our first choice for the Courtyard hotel has always been next to City Hall. The reasons are clear, Central Park, the Park Inn Hotel, two breweries, the best restaurants, and all the wonderful historic buildings.”
Mr. Chodur promises a hotel, though, despite the tough road he has tread so far in Mason City.
“As we have always said, we are going to build the Courtyard Hotel. We can not put our financing at risk while the City plays more political games. I do not see the State being held in limbo while the City Council fails to do their duty in selecting the most responsive applicant. We knew the City was playing a game with us back in July and August. To protect our investment we started to look for alternative sites. We ended up purchasing approximately 1 1/2 acres on South Federal just South of the Mall and Willow Creek. This site is about 200 feet directly South of Gatehouse’s proposed project. Unfortunately for the City, the site is not in the reinvestment district and we will oppose annexation.”
Finally, an alternative plan is being formulated that would allegedly save the city tens-of-millions of dollars. This plan has been put together by Mason City citizens who want a new development, but want it “right-sized”. It would be vastly different than the “Renaissance” project and cut the state out, along with the $1.5 million skywalk and – critically – most all risk to the taxpayers to future pitfalls. NIT is working to round up the full details on this proposal from the concerned citizens.
Hotels to Hell.What do we need 2 more hotels for?Really explain how this is going to make our lives better in Mason City.We could use 2 more Great Factores instead of Hotels.Are they going to pay their hotel service employees a fair wage,bet not just ask anyone who has ever done this type of work and they are way underpaid to put up with what they have too.City works really hard to bring this crap but forget how to bring REAL jobs here.Why not try to do that first so we have more of a tax base.IDIOTS! North Iowa not it is North Iowa Idiots get your game together.We need real growth not a facade (fake growth).And that is what this is.
Factories and hotels do not need to be exclusive. The city would be happy to bring in more jobs and have tried to bring in both jobs and factories last year, but the citizens shot that down.
BTW thanks for explaining facade, but forgetting how to spell factories.
What factories do you think would have any interest in locating in Mason City? The factories that are concerned about obtaining the lowest cost of production will locate in Mexico or China. Higher paying, advanced manufacturers will not find the workforce they require here (they need young, educated and diverse workforce which mason City does not have).
Mason City will continue to attract low paying retail and food service jobs until something is done about the quality of the workforce here.
What’s sad is I own two properties in mason city, pay a good amount of property taxes, and I can’t vote against this even though I don’t agree with it.
Just a BAD PROJECT all around!!! WE give way too much away and take on ALL the risk and debt. Please have the referendum vote now and put this mess behind us!
NIT and Chodur remind me of a fish out of water. First you bashed him for living in a trailer park and now you are the big supporter. Chodur had a motel plan years ago but defaulted and now flipped to another plan. That fish is still floppen.
Exactly, prime examples of a couple of snake-oil salesman.
Kind of like castigating people for years for taking taxpayer money for their own use, then turning around and begging the city for money and getting it for personal use.
Equals zero integrity,
Two establishment bashers who don’t mind raping the taxpayers but will criticize people who are showing what crooks they really are.
I agree. Kind of hypocritical isn’t it??
Almost like NIT will bash the city no matter what decision they make. If the city had chosen to move forward with Chodur, then NIT would be the biggest Chodur haters.
NIT’s excuse of journalism has become as unethical as the mayor they hate so much.
It is not bashing when it is true and this article is true.
Hey out there!! Hello!! Is anybody paying attention? I feel a BIG lawsuit coming on, folks. Don’t you remember that a few months ago the City Council kicked Developer Philip Chodur’s G8 hotel proposal out the door, because he didn’t have financing for his project? Thereafter, they reopened their search for another hotel developer, and came up with Gatehouse Capital from Texas. Now as it turns out Chodur has secured financing to do his hotel, without a dime from us taxpayer. On the other side, Gatehouse Capital is demanding that we give them a $150,000 “fee” to conduct their hotel feasibility study, plus bankroll their hotel project with a 20 year, interest free, $3.5 to $4.3 million tax payer loan. Get out your check books!
Well, when I think “Lawsuit” I always think Foster…..
I think that both of these projects are a big joke, on the tax payers. We don’t need another, let alone two, one hundred room hotels in this city. Has the hotels/motels that we have now, ever been filled to capacity where people were turned away. There’s nothing in this town that will bring that many people/tourists here. I don’t believe that either one of these projects will not end up costing more tax money.
Two crap hotel projects that cost us money, and could make a lot of money for someone else. Build away, hotel entrepreneurs, but use your own money.
Mr. Chodur had exclusive rights with the “Renaissance” project to build a hotel in the downtown area for the last 4 years. Lack of progress, mis-steps, unanswered questions, dead ends, and other questionable things (i.e. other stalled projects) doomed him. Who (the city and the public) can believe a word he says anymore. Likening him to the boy that called wolf— he has called “wolf” too many times and nobody believes if he is telling the truth or not. Now he is crying about being treated so bad but he was the one jacking the city around for the last few years.
Of the two proposals it appears to me that Chodur is much better sharing ideas of his plans. It took a while but now has his funding. He has the franchise. He addresses parking problems. He is from North Iowa and owns other properties here. He has already invested his own money.
Gatehouse has no interest in Mason City other than financial gain for them selves. If they build in the mall parking lot this will create a parking problem. Where are people suppose to park? What is the plan for Music Man Square and museum? Build a different one some where else? Where? Who is Gatehouse’s franchise? What am I forgetting?
I say let them compete. No city money. Let them both build. I just don’t want to pay for it.
Who owns Music Man Square? Will it be gifted to Gatehouse?
It will be gifted to Gatehouse and the mall will be gifted to the mall owner. The city will end up owning nothing other than the debt.
what do you need mall parking for? Three customers, and a few foot traffic transients hanging out in the food court. Plenty of room for that.
You have to be kidding about parking at the mall, right? Have you ever been there?!?! If this hotel took away 50% of the parking spots at the mall, there still would be no problems finding somewhere to park at Southbridge.