Toledo has something a lot of growing cities would envy: plenty of land and housing people can afford. What it doesn't have is much new construction, and city leaders spent a Wednesday morning this month trying to change that.
On Oct. 14, the City of Toledo hosted its BuildToledo Developer Summit, bringing in developers from around the country to hear about building homes in the city, WTOL reported. The city's event listing said the session would highlight site-ready properties, available financing tools, development resources and the steps needed to take a project from concept to permitting.
"Toledo is affordable when it comes to housing, but we don't have new housing going on and not a lot of it in any significant numbers," said Collina Ali, the city's deputy director of housing and community development. "And so what we're trying to do is try to kind of stir the pot or create a catalytic type of event so developers are coming in."
Lots of land, old housing stock
Most of Toledo's homes were built before 1980, WTOL reported. But Ali said there is still a lot of land available.
"We're not making any more land, but we have a lot of land available, both that are owned by the city and also the land bank, and there are some opportunities there that people can use to build on it," she said.
The city isn't looking for huge subdivisions. Ali said the focus is on infill.
"We're talking more about those infill type of housing. Maybe it's two or three on the block, and it helps stabilize the block," she said. "You know, when you get new property, people are very proud of it. They want to live in it, they keep it up, and they just make the whole neighborhood better."
Rewriting the rules
City officials also used the summit to walk developers through changes meant to make building easier. Ali pointed to a pro-housing zoning rewrite now underway, along with earlier changes to lot size rules that have already gone through the city's zoning and planning commission.
That rewrite has federal money behind it. In February 2025, Toledo City Council voted 10-0 to accept a $4 million HUD Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing, or PRO Housing, grant, according to the city's ordinance. The ordinance says the grant targets two big barriers in Toledo: an outdated zoning code and a weak market for new or preserved housing.
According to the ordinance, the grant will pay for:
- A comprehensive update of Toledo's planning and zoning code and development standards.
- Pre-approved housing design templates that developers can use to cut costs on new affordable homes.
- Appraisal gap financing to encourage building in targeted weak-market neighborhoods.
The city's current zoning code dates to 2004, and its request for a rewrite consultant said the code no longer lines up with the Forward Toledo comprehensive land use plan adopted in 2024. The PRO Housing team includes the city's housing department, the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions and the Lucas County Land Bank. It works with a PRO Housing Advisory Group of stakeholder organizations, subject-matter experts and residents. The ordinance says the work builds on Toledo Together, the city's first comprehensive housing strategy, adopted in 2021.
Appraisal gap money addresses a familiar problem in older industrial cities: a new house can cost more to build than it will appraise for once it's done. Closing that gap is often what makes infill work on paper.
Why it matters for Contractors
Toledo is telling builders it has the lots, it's working on the rules and it has money to help close the numbers. For small and midsize home builders, a few houses at a time on scattered city and land bank lots could add up to steady work, especially if pre-approved design templates cut down on design and permitting time. Infill homes still need everything a subdivision house needs — foundations, framing, roofing, siding, windows, plumbing, electrical and HVAC — plus careful site work on tight city lots with old utility connections. Contractors interested in building in Toledo should get to know the city's housing department and the Lucas County Land Bank and keep watching for the new zoning code.