Resource Center

Made possible by the $1.5 Rebuild Illinois grant award, the Sawyer House will become a Resource Center that will open to the public in 2025. The Resource Center will be a primary service and resource hub serving and providing:
  • Residents: property management services, fair housing information, HUD-approved housing counseling services, financial literacy, and budgeting tools
  • Businesses: flexible leasing options and flexible terms that fosters entrepreneurship and assists small businesses start, open, and grow within Shimer Square
  • Co-Work Space: dedicated co-work space to cater to the evolving needs of today's workforce, providing open desks and meeting rooms for residents, businesses, and families with children at the childcare development center ​
  • HUD-approved housing counseling services: free, quality counseling to assist in providing crucial assistance and guidance to individuals and families regarding housing-related issues:​
    • Homebuyer Education
    • Foreclosure Prevention Counseling
    • Rental Counseling
    • Financial Literacy and Budget Counseling
    • Pre-purchase, Homebuyer Education
    • Post-purchase, Homeowner Education
  • ​CDFI Lending: support for small business by providing CDFI lending  through Bridge Investment Community Development Corporation, a certified Community Development Financial Institution, with affordable and flexible financing options, including small business loans and microloans, to support the growth and development of small businesses​
Economic Growth Corporation (GROWTH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community-based development organization and the developer of Shimer Square. At GROWTH, we’re driven by a commitment to honor Shimer Square’s history with the respect it deserves. Our work represents years of dedication, countless hours, and tireless efforts from a passionate, mission-driven team. The total overall investment at Shimer Square will exceed $37 million resulting in at least a 1988.24% increase in tax base in 2025: creating and supporting 260 jobs, along with 51 new housing units, marking the first new construction multifamily development in Carroll County in over 2 decades, along with creating vital childcare openings, and a Resource Center within a previously vacant, underutilized historic campus. Every step forward is a nod to the past and a bridge to the future. 
​Until further notice, due to active construction, the Shimer Square campus located at 203 Seminary Street, Mount Carroll, IL is closed to the general public.
Picture
Equal Opportunity Provider. 
Fair Housing/ Equal Opportunity Statements:
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. Policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

Declaraciones sobre Vivienda Justa/Oportunidad Igualitaria:
Estamos comprometidos con la letra y el espíritu de la política de EE. UU. para lograr la igualdad de oportunidades de vivienda en toda la nación. Fomentamos y apoyamos un programa de publicidad y marketing afirmativo en el que no haya barreras para obtener vivienda debido a raza, color, religión, sexo, discapacidad, estado familiar u origen nacional.
Information throughout this website is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. ​