Cuyahoga County Debuts Loan Program to Boost Development Along Public Transit Lines

Cuyahoga County wants more Van Akens, more Little Italys, more Gordon Squares and more Larchmere Boulevards.

Or to put it in city planner speak: more transit-oriented development.

On Monday, the county debuted a program that will soon dole out loans to developers who need to round-off financing for projects on or close by train or bus lines. Those builders can get up to a $2.5 million loan at an interest rate as low as four percent, as long as their project in less than a half mile from a transit line.

Those corridors — 22 in total — are where you’d expect, including near the Red, Blue, Green and Waterfront lines, the HealthLine, MetroHealth Line and about 10 highly-used other bus lines, from the 22 on Lorain Ave. to the 26 on Detroit and the 41 on Warrensville Road.

The county’s idea is rooted in its annual transit-oriented development study that its been funding since 2022. (And reached an “all-time high” last year.) It’s an idea that, if done right, is mutually beneficial: more apartments and shops along dense areas, more people using transit to get to them.

It “is smart growth in action,” County Executive Chris Ronayne said in a press release. TOD is “strengthening local ties, boosting our economic and transportation infrastructures and ensuring resources are within reach of all of our residents.”

Such a boost pairs nicely with similar incentives at Cleveland City Hall, where city planners are moving forward with a Smart Code zoning pilot in three neighborhoods, representing Cleveland’s best bet to codify zoning law that automatically encourages dense, walkable development.

Also, in 2023, the city put a perks system—transit-demand management—into law to encourage developers to build bike racks, pocket parks, shuttles, or more to go along with their apartment complexes.

And the county’s program bears similarities.

Loans awarded to developers can be used for new construction—parking lots, sidewalks, tree lines—or improvement to preexisting structures. Projects have to be at least a half-mile from one of 22 transit lines, include a non-housing element, and prove that at least one job will be created for every $150,000 borrowed.

Building in front of an RTA station? You have to have an “active first floor use,” the program guide stipulates.

But will developers buy in? Many often gripe about Cleveland’s relatively low tax abatement policy, about higher-than-usual federal interest rates and a tough housing market that leaves few guaranteed incentives for developers not swayed primarily by passion.

Also, tax perks from the state—like for low-income projects—may not be the kicker.

This “signals to the development community that we are listening,” Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Mary Cierebiej said in a statement.

Those interested in more details can tune in to a Zoom webinar on September 9.

Developers have until September 29 to submit a first round of eligibility applications. Final approvals, the county said, for loans will be doled out later this year and early 2026.

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