City of Toledo Urges Congress to Protect Toledo’s Federal Funding for the RIVER East Project
City of Toledo officials, community organizations, and business leaders held a press conference today to raise concerns about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in Congress that could take back federal funds previously awarded to communities like Toledo.
In 2024, Toledo received $28.5 million in federal funding through the Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) Grant Program for the RIVER East Toledo project. The NAE rescissions are part of a broader package of proposed cuts to programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). While most other IRA-funded programs targeted for rescission are focused on emissions reduction and environmental initiatives, NAE primarily funds projects focused on creating safe and affordable transportation options for families across the country.
This grant, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods initiative, funds critical improvements toFront and Main Streets to increase safety, mobility, and connectivity between East Toledo neighborhoods, downtown, and the Maumee riverfront. This federal investment is vital to completing the project without any cost to the City and unlocking future economic growth and revitalization.
“This funding is vital to Toledo’s future,” Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “We have done the hard work—planning, design, community input, and now we are at risk of losing a transformative investment that will support jobs, safety, and long-term growth.”
The RIVER East Toledo initiative builds on public and private investment already underway in the area, including the 300-acre Glass City Riverwalk and the $38 million Toledo Innovation Center, which has brought 170 high wage jobs to the region.Business leaders stressed that the stability of federal funding is key to sustaining the momentum and unlocking future development.
Business leaders and partners have made strategic decisions to invest in East Toledo based on the promise of improved access, safety, and infrastructure. If that commitment is withdrawn, it could jeopardize ongoing and future investments. Currently, Front and Main streets remain outdated corridors that limit access and discourage further development.
The City’s plan aims to modernize these roads with infrastructure designed to accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and drivers. The project is expected to create 225 full-time construction jobs and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in future economic activity.
Design work is underway, and the City is on track to secure its construction agreement with the Federal Highway Administration in 2026. But new language in proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate could cancel federal funds that have not yet been formally committed through signed agreements, even if those funds were already awarded.
“The House-passed bill to cut this critical investment is a major mistake, and I won’t stop fighting to keep it from becoming law. Cutting this already-announced and awarded federal support for the City of Toledo’s plan to reconnect East Toledo neighborhoods to its waterfront is a major blow to regional development efforts that is being arbitrarily delivered by the Trump Administration,” Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) said. “Reconnecting historic neighborhoods long separated by a bustling transportation corridor would allow East Toledo citizens easy access to the Glass City Metropark and new commercial districts. In recent years the City of Toledo, Metroparks Toledo, and the federal government have made significant investments to revitalize our downtown and riverfront districts. This cancellation will stall further progress. We should be working to provide greater access to our improving waterfront, not cutting off progress to do so. There’s still time for Senate Republicans, and President Trump to reject this bill, and I strongly urge them to do so.”
City officials, business stakeholders, and regional partners are calling on Congress to protect the funding.
“This is not just about Toledo,” Kapszukiewicz said. “It is about honoring the federal commitment to communities that have done everything asked of them. Pulling the rug out now would punish neighborhoods that are counting on this investment to move forward.”
Send this message to your representatives at https://democracy.io/:
I’m a Toledo resident writing to urge you to protect the $28.5 million in federal funding already awarded to Toledo through the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program.
This investment is vital to the economic prosperity of the businesses and families who call East Toledo home. The RIVER East Toledo project is designed to connect neighbors to the riverfront, improve safety along Front and Main Streets, and support local economic growth. Businesses and community organizations have made decisions based on this federal commitment, and withdrawing it now would undermine years of planning, design, and local investment.
Please oppose the budget reconciliation bill’s provision to rescind these funds. Don’t let our community lose out on a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a safer, brighter future for our kids.