Cleveland's housing fund just got a serious boost. Fifth Third Bank has put $5 million into the Cleveland Housing Investment Fund (CHIF), pushing the pot to roughly $43 million and giving organizers more muscle to move long-stalled projects. The cash is aimed squarely at small- and mid-sized developments that often get stuck between blueprints and groundbreaking, with CHIF still targeting between 2,500 and 3,000 homes citywide, from rentals to for-sale units.
Fifth Third Boosts Capital And Reach
According to LISC Fund Management, Fifth Third's $5 million equity investment, announced Feb. 9, brings CHIF's capitalization to about $43 million and "strengthens CHIF's ability to deliver flexible capital" for affordable, workforce and mixed-income housing projects across Cleveland. LISC says CHIF uses a mix of debt, equity and equity-like tools to back the kind of small- and mid-sized housing deals that often cannot get traditional bank financing. The announcement also features comments from Fifth Third's Northern Ohio regional president, Matt Nipper, tying the move to the bank's place-based community strategy.
Money At Work: Walton And Parkside
The City of Cleveland reports that CHIF has already closed two early investments. One is Walton Apartments, a 52-unit community for residents 55 and older in Clark-Fulton. The other is Parkside Homes, a 55-home scattered-site lease-purchase program spread across Buckeye, Glenville and Hough. City materials show CHIF supplied roughly $2 million in construction and permanent financing to Walton and a $2 million permanent loan for Parkside, together supporting more than 100 homes. Development partners on those projects include Völker Development, CHN Housing Partners, Famicos Foundation and Burten, Bell, Carr Development.
Why This Matters
Officials say CHIF is designed to plug neighborhood-level financing gaps so smaller developers can move from drawings to dirt a lot faster. Axios reported in March 2025 that Cleveland saw one of the sharpest year-over-year rent spikes among major U.S. metros in 2024, a trend CHIF is explicitly trying to counter. Fund materials state that the program prioritizes units affordable to households earning below 80% of area median income and includes technical assistance for emerging developers, according to LISC Fund Management.
What’s Next For CHIF
LISC Fund Management has said CHIF ultimately aims to raise up to $100 million, with organizers continuing to court local banks and philanthropic partners to close the gap. The initiative launched with an $18 million seed grant from the City of Cleveland and a $20 million anchor investment from KeyBank, a foundation that local leaders say is vital for getting more projects off the ground. The fund's first projects rolled out last fall, and fund managers say more developer outreach and deal closings are expected in the months ahead.
