Overview:

For more than 30 years, Cleveland Development Advisors (CDA) has been committed to creating jobs and improving neighborhoods throughout the city. 

CDA is a real estate and business development finance organization that invests private capital and New Markets Tax Credit allocations into catalytic projects in Cleveland.

Established in 1989 by a non-profit group comprised of the CEOs of 50 of Cleveland's largest corporations, CDA today is the real estate and business finance affiliate of the Greater Cleveland Partnership - one of the nation's biggest chambers of commerce.

CDA has helped provide financing for more than 135 projects, including regional icons such as the Gateway sports complex, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Cleveland Browns Stadium.

CDA has been committed to urban housing - helping to create over 6,750 new residential units in the city.  CDA has invested in numerous housing projects along East 4th Street, Euclid Avenue, the Warehouse District and University Circle.  We also have been successful in investing New Markets Tax Credits in low-income neighborhoods to generate significant community impact.  Our two New Markets investment funds have been awarded total allocations of $215 million.

We often provide the final piece of financing that can mean the difference between breaking ground or not moving forward.  CDA uses no tax dollars - we manage private funds.   

  • Leveraging New Markets Tax Credits

    The NMTC is a federal program that attracts capital to low income communities by providing private investors with a federal tax credit for investments made in businesses or economic development projects located in some of the most distressed communities in the nation.

    CDA has a successful track record of investing its NMTC allocation in projects that have the highest impact in the areas of greatest need. To date, CNMIF and CNMIF II have closed 43 NMTC transactions using $215 million of allocation. These projects represent more than $1 billion of investment in severely distressed Low Income Communities in Cuyahoga County.

  • "New Markets Tax Credits are a proven incentive that help move vital projects from the drawing board to reality.  Cleveland Development Advisors has smartly used these tax credits as leverage to develop successful, important projects in low income, distressed areas.  These projects are transformative, helping to trigger larger, more widespread urban revitalization and economic development."

    - Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge