Outstanding Public Outreach, Program, Project, Tool, or Community Initiative

Central City Economic Development Sales Tax Board Plan and Initiative 2012-2027

The Central City Economic Development Sales Tax Board and Harrison Lee Development Consulting set forth to create a strategic plan aimed at physical and cultural development. Years of physical and economic decline had led to neighborhood deterioration, resulting in blight, out-migration, and limited economic opportunities for residents and businesses. The strategic plan addresses the most pressing issues of the Central City District, the loss of population, the prevalence of blight, and a tactical approach to funding catalytic developments.

This initiative stood out as a unique tool to implement planning goals for an economic development sales tax board to help create a city district of lasting value. The project followed a strategic planning process and strives to achieve neighborhood preservation & equitable economic outcomes.

The final plan has widespread support and many people firmly believe that when 2027 arrives, the Central City District will be a national example of empowered residents advocating for economic improvement.

Engage O'Fallon

With additional public engagement constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PGAV worked closely with the City to create a robust, well-rounded engagement plan to engage more than 6,000 residents. The team at PGAV also created an introductory video featuring the Mayor of the City of O’Fallon that was hosted on the City’s engagement website.

A 3D, interactive clone of the City’s rotunda was created to act as a medium for public engagement and information dissemination. Multiple in-person workshops were held, an online engagement platform was launched, and the team conducted several stakeholder interviews to ensure all parties were able to engage in this process.

The planning team utilized a combination of GIS, professional modeling, and rendering software suites to create three different development scenarios that were rooted to reality and could be brought to fruition. The public was invited to provide feedback on each scenario and ultimately choose which scenario should be included in the final document. After selection, the planning team created a final model for each scenario area and its associated fiscal and environmental impacts to the community. The scenario modeling tool was an innovative way to help the public and City officials both see what could be developed, but also clearly understand the impacts. The digital twin of the City created during Engage O’Fallon was turned over to City staff so they may use it to make better informed decisions and show outcomes in a more effective way.