Rendering of the Gatehouse Hotel

Rendering of what the downtown Mason City hotel might look like with the Skywalk over South Delaware Avenue.


Rendering of Gatehouse

Mason City Council approves the next step for a downtown hotel

In early April, Mason City Council approved a new schedule for the project, with the developer completing funding for the hotel by July 1. Previously, in December 2020, there was a more preliminary forecast that Financing and construction in early 2021 could be possible.

When Mason City Council approved a $ 24 million public-private partnership with Gatehouse Capital to build a downtown hotel in July 2019, the 40-page contract included a number of deadlines. There was an initial funding commitment by September 30, 2019 and construction to start “on or before July 1, 2020”. The improvements should be completed by December 2023 at the latest.

This funding commitment has been postponed to a provisional date in February 2020. And then COVID-19 sneaked into the picture, and that slowed down parts of the hotel project, according to Burnett.

“It is a very difficult time that we are working. The fact that it took longer isn’t surprising. I’m confident we can make headway, but in the face of a pandemic that only stirs up once in a century, “Burnett said.

Getting finance for the hospitality industry is the hardest part of all other than office real estate, “said Rachie.