Development Activity

GROWTH is redeveloping Shimer Square as a phased redevelopment encapsulating the entire campus footprint of the historic Shimer College, a 14-acre campus with a total of 17 buildings, former residential halls and instructional buildings solidly constructed between the time from 1903 and 1957. While its revitalization work will take many years, GROWTH takes a community minded approach having an extra eye for detail, restoring unique characteristics, and preservation of the artifacts of academics past, while building for the future.

Shimer Square’s future is one of brightness and opportunity. Planned development efforts celebrate the past while building for the future, restoring and revitalizing the historic campus into a new, mixed-use neighborhood with residential, commercial, and community amenities. GROWTH's redevelopment plan is highlighted below:​

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Shimer Square Resource Center
Total Development Cost: $1.5 Million

Identified in blue in the map above, GROWTH's $1.5 Million Rebuild Illinois Economic Development grant awarded by the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity is being deployed into the campus for utility infrastructure, roads, walks, and abatement of the former President home, Sawyer House, which will become a Resource Center providing financial literacy and business development education for entrepreneurs, homeowners, and residential tenants by providing access to resources and tools to help grow business and homeownership opportunities.

Shimer Square Apartments
51 total rental units
Total Development Cost: $32 Million

The phase identified in yellow on the aerial map depicted above includes  the adaptive-reuse of three buildings, McKee and Hostetter Hall (appearing as one building) and Dezendorf Hall converting the former residential halls into into 51 units of rental housing featuring studio, 1, 2, and 3 bedrooms ranging from 580 to 1,125 square feet. 

Amenities will include a community room, game room, library area, walking path, community garden, bike racks, picnic tables, and outdoor grill area. 

​Total project costs exceed $32 million will provide housing that is affordable to new residents who wish to call Shimer Square home. An entirely new tax base will be created for the city of Mount Carroll in addition to creating and supporting 200 construction jobs.

Shimer Square Childcare Center
Total Development Cost: $2.8 million

GROWTH was awarded $800,000 from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to go towards the development of a childcare center within the Shimer Square campus. After some pivoting, GROWTH is working to put the financing pieces together to complete the overall redevelopment of the Metcalf Hall's ground floor into a 4,000 SF childcare center that will provide high quality childcare services to meet a very high demand for childcare services, as reported through a feasibility study conducted early in 2023 to determine that there is a strong demand for such within the Shimer Square campus. 

Shimer Square Condominiums
Pipeline for Future

The phase identified in blue on the aerial map depicted above includes  the adaptive-reuse of two former instructional halls, Bennett and Hathaway Halls, and originally was intended to be developed into 37 new units of workforce housing- instead, GROWTH has pivoted to redevelop these historic properties into for-sale condominiums. 

Shimer Square Demolition 
Maintenance Building

Growth General Contracting, LLC coordinated the demolition of the dilapidated maintenance building on campus that occurred on November 7-8, 2022. The maintenance building demolition was carefully coordinated to maintain and preserve as many of the bricks to reuse in redevelopment efforts on other buildings.