City Launches Toledo Community Improvement Corporation to Prepare Sites for Jobs and Housing

The City of Toledo announced the launch of the Toledo Community Improvement Corporation (TCIC), following approval by Toledo City Council yesterday. The new economic development entity will serve as a powerful tool to prepare sites for both job-creating projects and new housing opportunities in the city.

A Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) is a nonprofit organization authorized under Ohio law to advance economic development, redevelopment, and housing. CICs can acquire, hold, and sell property, and forge public-private partnerships that transform vacant or underutilized land back to productive use.

The TCIC will be supported by a dedicated revenue stream from the Rossford-Toledo Joint Economic Development Zone for the next 35 years, providing a stable, long-term funding source to assemble, prepare, and market sites for development.

“The Toledo Community Improvement Corporation gives us the ability to be ready when opportunities knock. By preparing sites in advance, we can be better positioned to win projects that bring jobs and housing to Toledo. This is an investment in Toledo’s future prosperity,” Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said.

Brandon Sehlhorst, director of economic development, said the approach has a strong track record.

"This is a proven model. We’ve seen it work. Our proactive site preparation at Overland Industrial Park, Southwyck, Textileather, Ironville and NorthTowne readied 346 acres now home to more than 3,700 jobs, generating $114 million in annual payroll and $1.3 billion in capital investment," Sehlhorst said.

"These projects would have gone elsewhere without shovel-ready sites. The TCIC will allow us to replicate that success and keep delivering competitive locations for employers and housing developers alike," he said.

The City also pointed to the Marina District property as a prime example of proactive site assembly and cleanup leading to transformative outcomes: the Glass City Riverwalk and Metropark and Marina Lofts, the City’s largest new housing development in decades.

The next step in launching the TCIC will be the appointment of its board of directors. The board will set the strategic priorities and oversee efforts to advance Toledo’s economic development and housing goals.

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