The rural community of Effingham, Illinois, was experiencing stagnation in both its population and economy due to off-shoring, brain drain, and a housing shortage. In response, the City enlisted The 1861 Group to design an economic recovery strategy document addressing barriers to economic growth.

The project began with a comprehensive real estate analysis, literature review, and interviews with over 20 stakeholder organizations to identify economic inefficiencies and development opportunities. Growth barriers were found in the residential market, including housing affordability and diversity issues, as well as within the labor force, especially at the entry-level and with talent attraction. A variety of analyses were conducted to identify best practice approaches to these market inefficiencies, including zoning and land use analysis, demand studies, residential pricing modeling, and geospatial analyses, from which actionable strategies were composed.

These strategies were based around: expanding residential development capacity to attract new residents, reducing the cost of doing business in the community, and expanding the workforce within existing residents. The strategy document was delivered with implementation plans, timelines, costs, and impacts, and adopted by City Council in December 2023.