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Event / Action Date:Sep 2, 2026
The Cleveland Housing Investment Fund has raised $53 million toward its $100 million goal, with 216 affordable homes now in development.
Cleveland created the public-private fund to help finance between 2,500 and 3,000 new housing units for residents with low and moderate incomes.
The city launched the initiative with $18 million in surplus American Rescue Plan Act funding. Private commitments include $20 million from KeyBank, $10 million from Huntington Bank and $5 million from Fifth Third Bank.
LISC Fund Management, an affiliate of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, manages the fund.
The program gives affordable-housing developers access to flexible financing designed to fill gaps in complex development budgets and help projects move into construction.
The Cleveland Housing Investment Fund launched in 2025 with a goal of assembling $100 million in public and private capital.
The commitments announced so far include:
City of Cleveland: $18 million
KeyBank: $20 million
Huntington Bank: $10 million
Fifth Third Bank: $5 million
That brings the fund to $53 million, leaving approximately $47 million still to be raised.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has said the city looked to Detroit's housing investment fund as a model. The approach combines public funding with private capital rather than relying on a single government program to finance affordable-housing development.
The fund is intended to support approximately 2,500 to 3,000 housing units across Cleveland, with a primary focus on rental housing for low- and moderate-income households.
The initiative also calls for at least 100 for-sale homes and can support neighborhood-scale rehabilitation projects that preserve or return existing buildings to residential use.
Individual investments are generally expected to range from approximately $1 million to $5 million, depending on the project's size, financing gap and development plan.
The capital is designed to complement other financing sources, including Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, conventional debt and local, state or federal housing assistance.
City officials say 216 housing units are currently in the fund's development pipeline.
That represents early progress toward the program's long-term production goal, but most of its intended impact still lies ahead.
Affordable-housing developments often rely on multiple funding sources and can still face financing gaps after tax credits and conventional debt are secured. Higher construction costs, interest rates, land expenses and restricted rents can make otherwise viable developments difficult to close.
The Cleveland fund is designed to provide flexible capital that can help bridge those gaps.
One of the fund's first major investments is Depot on Detroit, a 60-unit affordable-housing development planned for Cleveland's Cudell neighborhood.
The Cleveland Housing Investment Fund committed approximately $5.76 million to the $18.4 million development.
Flaherty & Collins Properties and Northwest Neighborhoods Community Development Corp. are developing the project at 10300 Detroit Avenue, near the West Boulevard–Cudell Red Line station.
The development will include one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for households earning between 30% and 60% of area median income.
Twelve apartments will be designated as supportive housing through HUD's Section 811 program for people with disabilities, while three additional units are supported through City of Cleveland HOME funding.
Other financing includes construction and permanent financing from Merchants Bank, $1 million in Emergency Rental Assistance 2 funding from Cuyahoga County and equity through National Equity Fund.
The project demonstrates how Cleveland intends to use the investment fund: not to finance an entire development, but to fill a critical gap within a larger capital stack.
Cleveland launched the fund amid an estimated shortage of more than 50,000 affordable housing units.
Addressing that gap will require more than new apartment construction. The city's strategy also includes preserving existing affordable housing, rehabilitating vacant properties and expanding homeownership opportunities.
Because the investment fund can provide loans and other financial instruments rather than only one-time grants, repaid capital may potentially be recycled into future projects, depending on individual financing terms and the fund's governing structure.
The fund is intended to finance affordable-housing developments serving low- and moderate-income Cleveland residents.
Developers pursuing financing should be prepared to demonstrate a viable project with a defined financing gap. Key underwriting considerations may include:
Site control
Development-team experience
Affordability levels
Total development cost
Sources and uses
Construction and operating budgets
Committed and anticipated financing
Project readiness
Neighborhood impact
The financing gap the fund would address
Developers should contact LISC Fund Management for current eligibility, underwriting and submission requirements.
The announced $1 million to $5 million investment range should be treated as a general target, not a guaranteed funding amount for individual projects.
The Cleveland Housing Investment Fund has now assembled $53 million of its $100 million target, combining $18 million in city funding with $35 million in announced private commitments.
The fund is targeting 2,500 to 3,000 housing units, and city officials report that 216 homes are already in development.
Its nearly $6 million commitment to Depot on Detroit provides an early example of the strategy: use flexible public-private capital to close financing gaps and help affordable-housing developments move forward.
Cleveland still has approximately $47 million left to raise, but the fund has begun putting its initial capital to work.
- Cleveland-area developers should review whether planned affordable-housing projects may qualify for financing through the fund. - Projects seeking capital should clearly identify their financing gap and demonstrate readiness, site control and other committed funding. - Contact LISC Fund Management for current eligibility, underwriting and submission requirements. - Monitor additional fund commitments as Cleveland works toward its $100 million target.
Cleveland is using a public-private investment model to address financing gaps that can prevent affordable housing developments from moving forward. With $53 million raised and 216 homes already in development, the fund provides developers with another potential source of flexible capital while demonstrating how cities can leverage public dollars to attract private investment.
Cleveland residents seeking affordable rental or ownership opportunities, affordable housing developers, community development corporations, emerging developers, local housing organizations, banks, institutional investors, LISC Fund Management, neighborhood groups and organizations assembling financing for Cleveland housing projects.
The Cleveland Housing Investment Fund has raised $53 million toward a $100 million goal and has helped move 216 affordable homes into development. Cleveland seeded the fund with $18 million in surplus American Rescue Plan Act money, while KeyBank, Huntington Bank and Fifth Third Bank supplied $35 million in private commitments. The fund aims to support between 2,500 and 3,000 housing units.
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