On August 25, 2025, the Cuyahoga County Department announced a new Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Loan Program utilizing existing loan funds, designed to catalyze mixed use, high-density development projects located near high-frequency public transit. The goal of the program is to enable real estate projects that strengthen transit accessible communities, promote reinvestment in neighborhoods, and enhance the County’s long-term economic vitality.

“Developing communities around transit helps create affordable, connected neighborhoods,” said Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne. “TOD is smart growth in action – strengthening local ties, boosting our economic and transportation infrastructures, and ensuring resources are within reach of all of our residents.”

TOD Loan Program funding may be used for comprehensive real estate development projects that create or preserve jobs and involve new construction, major renovations, or substantial building improvements within the TOD program zone. The program offers gap financing through subordinated, fixed-rate loans from $150K – $2.5M to address capital shortfalls for projects that align with the County’s integrated development and sustainability goals. Projects are funded primarily through owner equity and private bank financing, with Economic Development Loans available for gap financing.,

“This is about enhancing the existing assets of Cuyahoga County,” said Annie Pease, Executive Ronayne’s Senior Advisor on Transportation. “The more jobs that can locate near public transportation, the more opportunities we are providing the people of Cuyahoga County.”

The TOD Loan Program builds upon the work of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission’s Countywide Transit-Oriented Development Zoning Study. The study identified policy barriers to enabling development near high frequency transit corridors, created model legislation to help communities advance TOD, and surveyed developers of TOD.

“Several communities in Cuyahoga County are actively working on zoning updates to allow for more dense, multi-modal, and mixed-use development in areas served by frequent transit,” said Mary Cierebiej, Executive Director of the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. “In addition, this new loan program signals to the development community that we are listening. One of the top three barriers to TOD, identified through our developer survey, was the inability to secure financing or align within capital stack, so this is a great first step!”

“The TOD Loan Program provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to access the capital they need to grow their organizations, attract customers, and create jobs in dynamic, accessible communities,” said Vaughn P. Johnson, the County’s Deputy Director for Economic Development. “By empowering businesses to build and grow around transit, we are supporting our region’s economic growth, and creating resilient, interconnected neighborhoods.”

This is a competitive program, scored using the identified TOD criteria. Find the TOD Loan Program Guide and Eligibility Form here. For additional information, please email TODprogram@cuyahogacounty.gov.