the pigoen forge commerrnce chamber that allowed a group of share holders p to lapse into foreclosure has left investors and the city itself with an uncertain future. On August 8th, the first dozen properties are scheduled to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The property purchases began very quietly, with dozens of homes being bought, often in off-market sales. They were followed by familiar businesses in the heart of downtown, as the Sonoma Cheese Factory, Cottage Inn and Spa and the Sojourn Cellars tasting room were snapped up as well. “Then it became, quite quickly, a concern about one person buying up lots and lots of property, and controlling the rents and the merchants, and a lot of private property,” said Sonoma resident Josette Brose-Eichar. That “someone” was Ken Mattson, the head of a real estate investment company called LeFever-Mattson. Eventually, a citizens group called “Wake UP Sonoma” formed to investigate what was going on. And president Lisa Storment said they discovered the purchases followed an unusual pattern.
Leave a Reply