Joint Statement from Council President Blaine A. Griffin and Mayor Justin M. Bibb on the Shore-to-Core-to-Shore TIF District Legislation

Feb 15, 2024

Cleveland, OH (February 14, 2024) - Following a series of productive and collaborative sessions, Council and the Administration are aligned on the importance of promptly enacting the Shore-to-Core-to-Shore Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. 

The recently proposed TIF District presents an opportunity to make the city more vibrant by reinvigorating our waterfronts and our downtown and investing in critical infrastructure throughout our neighborhoods. Cleveland City Council and Mayor Justin M. Bibb recognize the transformational potential of the TIF District for all of Cleveland.

The time to act is now, with an uncertain window open to secure unprecedented federal funding opportunities. We are committed to working on this expeditiously following budget hearings. Once passed, Council and the Administration will work collaboratively to maximize community benefits of the TIF District. 

Council President Blaine A. Griffin stated, “Our members look forward to ensuring the TIF District will produce real, tangible improvements for our neighborhoods and downtown. Based on the framework we’re discussing, we anticipate that as much as 35% of the excess revenue could be used on public improvements in neighborhoods to spur continual and necessary progress for decades to come in our middle, edge, and opportunity neighborhoods, from Lee-Harvard to Central, and Collinwood to Kamm’s Corners.” 

“The TIF District will only work if we make upfront investments to transform our waterfronts and grow our downtown, which means we need to preserve flexibility to access all funding sources,” said Mayor Justin M. Bibb. “The TIF District will strengthen our downtown for generations to come, generating hundreds of millions of dollars to improve our neighborhoods.” 

We agree it is critical to move forward with passing this legislation and work out the details of spending allocations in future legislation. We recognize that our entire City has significant infrastructure needs now, and that large sums of the funding will not be available until the latter years of the TIF District. To ensure the entire City gets the funding it needs now – and not jeopardize the success of the TIF, the City of Cleveland will proactively explore available funding options, including the use of community benefits agreements to create a neighborhood investment fund. This fund will be used for the benefit of all Clevelanders.  

Council and the Administration are committed to ensuring that the entirety of our city rises with the TIF District.  

###