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In the heart of Central Illinois, towns like Mattoon and Charleston are grappling with housing shortages and the challenges posed by aging homes. On Tuesday night, a significant step was taken by these two cities in Coles County to address these concerns, aiming to attract both developers and potential homeowners.
In a show of unity, the city councils of Mattoon and Charleston unanimously decided to amend the Coles County Enterprise Zone. This change is seen as a strategic move to foster growth and revitalization within the area.
Charleston City Manager Steve Bennett highlighted the potential impact of this decision, expressing optimism about the county’s future appeal. “The original purpose was to offer incentives primarily to commercial and industrial businesses to encourage their establishment in participating cities and villages,” he explained. Now, with the revised focus, the initiative hopes to extend its reach and encourage more residential development.
In a related development, Mattoon has announced that its police department will begin ticketing cars parked on boulevards, a move likely aimed at improving community aesthetics and safety.
He added that the Enterprise Zone was certified by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity in 2020 allowing Charleston, Mattoon and Oakland to entice businesses to build in designated areas.
Tuesday night, Charleston and Mattoon’s city councils added housing and development and brought the Village of Ashmore on board, expanding the zone.
“I think Coles County is really starting to grow both Mattoon and Charleston around the area,” Bennett said. “This is just another way to help continue that growth.”
Coles County officials said the enterprise zone has been working to expand business developments, like growth around Emerald Acres in Mattoon. Now, they want to make sure new housing can keep up with that growth.
Bennett said they were averaging just three new homes built a year.
“Luckily, last year in 2025, we had seven,” he said. “So hopefully… more incentives will help incentivize the developers and people to move and to build homes in Charleston even more.”
Those new incentives include a property tax abatement for five years, when homeowners would pay the original property tax before their house was built, and there would be a bonus for companies building those homes.
“The developer would get (a) sales tax exemption on materials,” Bennett said.
He said there is power in numbers, and in order for Coles County to be competitive, it’s important to bring more people together.
“We would love to have people (not only) work in our community,” Bennett said, “but live here and be part of the community as well. That way they, you know, they have family, their kids. You can go to school here and just become part of the community, (it) really helps out.”