COUNTY PLANNING NEWSLETTER

May 2025

New TOD Development Trends Report

More than $1.2 billion of transit-oriented development (TOD), shown as dark teal circles in the map, has been constructed in Cuyahoga County in the last six years. This is a key finding of the 2025 Edition of the Development Trends on TOD Corridors report developed by County Planning in collaboration with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). Released in April 2025, the report analyzes new developments in Cuyahoga County, constructed between 2019 and 2024, with more than $1 million in added building value. The report focuses on 22 TOD corridors with frequent transit service. Included is an extensive review of whether new developments meet certain design criteria for TOD: located close to the street, multiple stories, parking at the side/rear of the building, TOD-friendly use/mixed-use, and front-facing building entrances.

Key findings from the report include: 

• The $1.2 billion investment in TOD in the past six years averages $199 million annually.
• In 2024, $298 million of TOD investment was added to buildings, which is the highest amount invested in the last six years, and $150 million more than was invested in 2021.
• TOD investment accounted for 33.6% of total added building value in Cuyahoga County, during this six-year time period, indicating that a significant amount of TOD is being built, although TOD is less than half of all development in Cuyahoga County.
• More than 92% of new TOD investment has occurred in the City of Cleveland in the past six years with strong concentrations in Downtown, University Circle, and the Near West Side.

Turney Road TOD Open House Recap

In support of the Turney Road Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Study, County Planning held its second public open house in Garfield Heights on April 9, 2025. Over 40 people attended to hear County Planning present a series of development scenarios for key sites along Turney Road, from Warner Road to I-480, in Cleveland and Garfield Heights. The study shows potential redevelopment of the Turney Town Shopping Center as a mixed-use hub as well as opportunities for smaller-scale mixed-use and townhome infill on the corridor. County Planning also presented potential future roadway alignments for Turney Road to support TOD and multi-modal transportation along the corridor. 

The study is being coordinated with regional partners including GCRTA, which will soon undertake a Broadway Avenue TOD study from Warner Road north into Cleveland.

Cuyahoga Greenways Updates

Image: Cuyahoga County

County Planning, in collaboration with the Cuyahoga Greenway Partners, has taken the lead to update the 2019 Cuyahoga Greenways Plan. For the last several months, County Planning has been building its report on the progress made over the last five years toward the design, funding, and construction of new bicycle-pedestrian facilities in the planned 800-mile countywide active transportation network. The report will focus on current projects, facilities standards, mapping and data, and community and partner outreach to provide the most up-to-date guide for the many communities and partners in the County and beyond. Numerous local governments and public agencies have collaborated in developing projects that are currently under construction or are soon to break ground.

County Planning is using the most recent data sets and mapping available to inform the update, and has made this information available for the Cleveland Citywide Mobility Plan and the NOACA Regional Metroparks Trails Connectivity Study. Further, County Planning has developed a ‘Facilities Editor’ tool that communities and partner agencies can use to map and describe in detail local updates on facilities progress.

Brooklyn Master Plan Update

In April, the City of Brooklyn entered into agreement with County Planning to perform a strategic update to their 2020 Master Plan. A successful implementation strategy for that plan led the city to desire new recommendations to maintain a positive momentum for action within the community. This streamlined planning process will be focused on a large community-wide online survey to identify community attitudes and potential opportunities to guide development of new actions for the community to pursue over the next 5 to 10 years.

ODOT Active Transportation Conference

On April 29 and 30, 2025, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) held its first-ever Active Transportation Conference at the Ohio State University campus in Columbus. The purpose of the conference was to highlight best practices for advancing statewide goals related to walking and biking. County Planning's Jim Sonnhalter co-presented on the topic “Ready, Plan, Go! Immediate Actions and a Long-Term Vision for Northeast Ohio” with City of Cleveland Senior Active Transportation Planner Sarah Davis. They presented the Cleveland Citywide Mobility Plan and the Cuyahoga Greenways Plan Update. 

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Cuyahoga County Planning Commission

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