What's next for Cleveland in 2026: Schools, airports, big civic bets
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Cleveland will be all about development in 2026. Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Some of the biggest local storylines of 2025 included Cleveland's growth as a movie hub, lakefront plans and Browns stadium drama.
State of play: 2026 will reveal how those things continue to unfold, while also highlighting key developments in Cleveland's school system, airport and public transportation.
Here are the stories we're keeping our eyes on:
🏫 CMSD merger fallout
Students, teachers and community members will all be navigating an uneasy new normal this year, after the Cleveland school board unanimously approved a consolidation plan in December.
State of play: Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, the number of preK-8 schools will drop from 61 to 45, and standalone high schools will decrease by roughly half from 27 to 14.
💭 Sam's thought bubble: The plan will reshape neighborhoods, commute patterns and staffing levels across the city, and I see the tendrils of this story reaching across multiple beats.
- Education, obviously, but also transportation, labor and real estate.
🏗️ Downtown development
Renewed lakefront planning unencumbered by a Browns stadium? A long-awaited $135 million Rock Hall expansion? A fully occupied Sherwin-Williams headquarters? Ongoing construction of the Cavs' riverfront training facility?
- That's all on the menu in 2026.
👀 What we're watching: Who advances in the lakefront developer hunt, and what sort of retail/housing/public space mix will they propose for the bountiful acreage?
✈️ Airport evolutions
Travelers will begin to see signs of improvement as Hopkins enters the first phase of its yearslong glow-up.
What's next: The expansion of the airport's central checkpoint should be complete in the first half of the year.
- And the new 1,600-space Gold Lot, adjacent to Concourse D, is expected to be open by the end of 2026, after which construction will begin on a new vertical garage.
😤 The intrigue: A new partnership has formed to oppose the closure of Burke Lakefront Airport.
- Can Mayor Justin Bibb and County Executive Chris Ronayne overcome this coalition?
🚏 RTA's hard decisions
The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is facing a budget crunch in 2026 and may pursue a tax increase for the first time since its founding in 1975.
🤔 What we're wondering: Could Cleveland's 8% parking tax — the vast majority of which goes to the Browns stadium — at some point be diverted to fund RTA?