MATTOON — A new program to draw remote workers to Mattoon with more than $11,000 in incentives each has gotten a boost from the Fortune multimedia business magazine.
Fortune included Mattoon in a July 29 story spotlighting 10 communities that are paying remote workers to move there. In addition, the Wall Street Journal indirectly referenced Mattoon in a July 16 article about 71 communities that are paying tech workers to “abandon Silicon Valley.”
“It’s just exciting that Mattoon is getting on the map and we are getting a lot of recognition for this,” said Mattoon Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ed Dowd during a presentation at the Mattoon City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Dowd also shared this information with U.S. Rep. Mike Bost from the 12th Congressional District during a meeting on Thursday, noting that the national media attention has helped remote worker inquires about the new Move to Mattoon program to more than 100 so far. In the current pilot stage of this program, Dowd said they plan to narrow down the inquires to five families to move to Mattoon.
Alex Benishek, community and economic development associate with the Mattoon in Motion community planning effort, is pictured on Thursday in City Hall displaying a presentation on the $11,142 package of incentives that have been assembled to recruit remote workers to the community as part of the new Move to Mattoon program. He is a fellow in community development from the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and Western Illinois University.
The recruitment program originated with the ongoing Mattoon in Motion community planning effort. Alex Benishek, a community and economic development associate with this effort, said this program has gotten national recognition by partnering with makemymove.com, a national website that facilitates remote worker relocations. The Mattoon program went live on makemymove.com on June 1
The package of more than $11,000 in incentives includes a free six-month membership at the YMCA; free 1-gigabit internet for six months from Consolidated Communications; one-year free membership at Elevate, CCIC, Inc. entrepreneurship center; restaurants and retailers gift cards; a free wellness assessment from Sarah Bush Lincoln; and three free hours of tuition from Lake Land College.
Benishek, who is a fellow in community development from the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and Western Illinois University, said Mattoon can be an attractive place for young professionals to be able to purchase their first homes. Move to Mattoon reports that the average home price in Mattoon is $79,000 versus $883,400 in Los Angeles, for example.
In addition, Benishek said young families may be drawn to Mattoon by the community offering low crime rates and commutes, plus access to quality education, healthcare and natural resources.
Dowd said Mark Muro, who studies cities and labor at the Brookings Institute, stated in the Wall Street Journal article that every remote worker these places successfully attract and retain is like gaining a fraction of a new factory or corporate office, with much less expenditure and risk.
“They are moving to your city, who knows what they might invest,” Dowd said, adding that remote workers and their families will become customers, students, volunteers, and more in their new community.
More information is available at https://movetomattoon.org/.
Spelling (LIFT)
Monitor Sign Service Inc. of Mattoon began installing the Leaders Innovating for Tomorrow signage Thursday afternoon on the exterior of the Mattoon school district’s planned regional high school vocational center downtown. The center is scheduled to open this fall and serve students from Mattoon and the surrounding area.
School crossing
A crew with Bartels Construction, Inc. installs a new school crossing Thursday morning on Broadway Avenue next to the First Presbyterian Church campus. Students from nearby St. John’s Lutheran School will use the new crossing to walk to additional classroom space in the First Presbyterian building starting this fall.
Contact Rob Stroud at (217) 238-6861. Follow him on Twitter: @TheRobStroud
