T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Footprints in the snow which fell the night before lead to a broken window in the former UnityPoint hospital in downtown Marshalltown. The City of Marshalltown is taking the owner, CD Marshalltown, to court to obtain the deed as the property has fallen into disrepair. There are tentative plans on how to transform the property if the city gets it, such as a creating a business incubator or a new community venue with a kitchen.

Behind the scenes actions are underway to change a portion of downtown Marshalltown. The former UnityPoint hospital on Main Street has sat empty and has been repeatedly vandalized for almost four years, but the City of Marshalltown is taking the property owner – CD Marshalltown – to court on June 9.

The trial is intended to obtain the property deed and was originally set for Feb. 9, but in December both parties — including additional defendants AJS of Des Moines, Finding Serenity and the Marshall County Treasurer — requested a continuance.

Another motion, filed Jan. 30, could have caused another continuance or a postponement, but the court determined that will not happen. The defendant’s attorney John Cutler filed a motion to withdraw his counsel, stating there was a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.

That same day, the Marshall County Court approved, but stated another attorney must be found, that the scheduled June 9 non-jury trial will not be postponed or continued in order to give the defendants time to retain another attorney. In Iowa, businesses must be represented by licensed attorneys.

CD Marshalltown owner Scott Covalt has recently gone through additional court proceedings in Grundy County. With his company Hoff Co Golf Iowa, he is also the owner of Fox Ridge Public Golf Course, which is permanently closed. A Grundy County non-jury trial against Hoff Co by Midland States Bank is scheduled in April 2027.

In seven other Grundy County court cases, dating from May 2021 to September 2025, Hoff Co was ruled against, and ordered to pay at least $1.3 million, not including interest or fines.

Fox Ridge was placed on the market earlier this month with an asking price of $3.4 million. The Grundy County Recorder’s office has a record of the golf course being sold to Hoff Co in August 2018 for $1.2 million.

Outside of the Marshall County courtroom, downtown Marshalltown waits for the hospital trial to begin and tentative plans are being made for the property. It is a focus of RDG Planning & Design, which is working on an updated comprehensive plan for the city. Some ideas for the site, which assumes most of the old building will be demolished, include a new community venue with a kitchen, single-family housing, a broad-reaching business incubator and green space.

The possibilities of the property ending back up on the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office foreclosure auction block have reduced. Originally scheduled for auction in October 2025, it was postponed three times and finally canceled. Covalt purchased the hospital property in January 2022 for $250,000 from UnityPoint, and has not made any movement to secure or improve it since then.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or

lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.