03/12/2026
*** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ***
March 12, 2026
Ribbon Cutting To Be Scheduled for Raccoon Hotel Opening at Site of Former 2020 Derecho Monument
“Well it’s settled,” said a City of Newton spokesperson at a press conference at City Hall earlier today. “No, not the court case. That is still going on, unfortunately. But City Council HAS approved a change to the zoning code to allow for ‘Non-Human Mammal Short Term Lodging’ as an approved use to be added in the downtown business district.”
This decision follows on the heels of a recent decision by the Jasper County District Court denying the property owner’s comically ironic efforts to “enforce” a 2023 settlement agreement that required, among other things, for the building be demolished no later than February 2, 2024. According to the ruling, the demolition, which was finally completed in the fall of 2025, does not comply with city code because the exterior “party wall” is exposed to the elements.
Rather than comply with city code, the property owner immediately pivoted to trying to find an alternate use for the building site. Much to the delight of a large colony of recently unhoused raccoons (many of whom formerly occupied the famously “dangerous and infested” structure), the exterior wall has been converted to serve as the frontage of a Raccoon Hotel, complete with a balcony and a neon sign. At press time it appeared the hotel was at full occupancy with a raucous group of raccoons enjoying what appeared to be the small mammalian equivalent of a block party - so apparently the term “party wall” has taken on new meaning.
Details of the upcoming ribbon cutting ceremony will be shared as soon as they become available.
