Who Collects the Property Tax on a New Townhome at The Canyons in Orange?
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
Picture someone closing on a new townhome at The Canyons in Orange Village next year. Their property tax bill comes out the same whether council passes the proposed tax increment financing district or not. The difference is who receives the money once it is paid. That question has filled Orange Village Hall with public comment since August. It also comes with a deadline that has nothing to do with buyers and everything to do with the calendar.
Under the residential TIF proposal, homeowners in The Canyons would pay the same amount of property tax they would pay anyway. Cleveland.com reported that taxes produced by increases in the property's assessed value would be treated as payments in lieu of taxes and deposited into a village TIF fund. That fund would pay for qualifying public infrastructure tied to the development.
The redirected money doesn't come evenly from every taxing body. Orange City Schools would be held harmless and receive the same revenue it would get without the TIF. Statutorily protected levies for Cleveland Metroparks, the Cuyahoga County Public Library and county health services would keep their shares. The money that moves comes from certain unprotected county levies, and it would go to the village.
So a buyer's bill doesn't change. What changes is the split of that money between Orange Village and Cuyahoga County.
The Canyons is a three-phase, 132-unit community that Pulte Homes of Ohio LLC is building on land generally along Averi Lane. The village's economic development plan expects road, water and sewer work as part of the project. Cleveland.com's December 2025 coverage placed the wooded site across from Pinecrest, near the Harvard Road exit off I-271 and just south of the Drury Inn at 4100 Orange Place, on what was known as the Weintraub property.
The same report described 117 homes for buyers 55 and older, with first-floor primary suites, plus 15 more townhomes. Pulte's division president estimated three and a half to four years to finish the project, at 25 to 30 closings a year. When we checked the builder's sales page on October 19, 2026, it marketed The Canyons as an active-adult townhome community and listed homes of 2,656 to 2,738 square feet starting at $590,990.
The project is well underway. Construction on the first four buildings began in fall 2025. The village's September 9, 2026 construction report said Phase 2 roadway paving was in progress, with utility trenching, final grading, stabilization and landscaping still to come. On October 16, the village said on its Canyons project page that it would stop posting status reports because Pulte is now communicating directly with the residents involved.
The fact that homes are already going up explains most of the timing behind the TIF.
A TIF captures growth in value above a starting point. In Orange, that starting point depends on when the ordinance passes. Special counsel Tyler Bridge of Bricker Graydon Wyatt LLP told council that a TIF ordinance enacted by the end of 2026 could use the property's January 1, 2026 value as its base. If council waits until 2027, the base could rise to include homes already built, which would shrink the future value the village could capture, according to cleveland.com.
The minutes of the September 2 meeting, published in the village's October 14 council packet, put it plainly: "Ordinances must be passed prior to December 31, 2026."
That timing is also behind the sharpest objection residents have raised. One resident told council that, in his experience, TIFs were used on challenged or brownfield sites, not greenfield residential developments, cleveland.com reported. A wooded tract with townhomes already rising is a different case. Mayor Judson Kline has defended the proposal as fiscal stewardship. "It would be fiscally responsible for us to take advantage of an opportunity for us to capture funds that would be otherwise ignored, and these funds would be used for building the future of Orange Village," he said, as reported by cleveland.com. He added that TIF provisions were contemplated in the original development agreement.
Matthew Stuczynski of MAS Financial Advisory Services presented 30-year projections to council on September 2, cleveland.com reported.
| 30-year projection | Without TIF | With TIF |
|---|---|---|
| Orange City Schools | About $14 million | About $14 million |
| County entities | About $7.2 million | About $3 million to protected levies |
| Orange Village, ordinary share | About $2.9 million | About $2.9 million |
| Redirected from unprotected county levies | None | About $3.65 million |
| Possible reimbursement to Pulte for eligible public improvements | None | Up to $800,000 |
For comparison, the land was projected to generate about $930,000 over the same 30 years if it stayed undeveloped. With the development and no TIF, the projection was about $24.5 million.
The dispute is over which number describes the TIF's benefit. Some officials cited roughly $5.7 million left for the village after the developer reimbursement. Others pointed out that the village would collect about $2.9 million even without a TIF. Stuczynski agreed that the added net benefit from the TIF itself comes to roughly $2.8 million to $3 million over 30 years.
Neighbors may also want to know what the TIF fund can't pay for. When one resident asked whether part of the benefit could provide property-tax relief to longtime residents, Bridge said a direct property-tax credit likely would not qualify as an eligible use of TIF money, according to cleveland.com.
The residential proposal is one of two. Ordinance 2026-29 had its first reading on October 14, according to the council agenda for that meeting. It would create a separate TIF on five parcels, cleveland.com reported. It would exempt 100% of the increase in assessed value for up to 30 years, in exchange for service payments in lieu of taxes. Those payments could fund roads, sidewalks, trails, utilities, stormwater work, landscaping and fencing. The draft ordinance gives Orange City Schools compensation equal to the property taxes it would have received without the exemption.
The ordinance names Omni Property Companies, LLC and LW Collection, LLC as the developers tied to the development agreement. It describes the parcels as classified for uses other than residential, but it does not name a building, a tenant or an end use for them.
Those four meetings are all that remain before the December 31 deadline in the minutes.
Would a Canyons buyer pay more property tax because of the TIF? Under the residential proposal as described in September, no. The owner pays the same amount, and part of it goes to the village TIF fund instead of certain county levies.
Do the schools lose revenue? Both proposals are structured so Orange City Schools receive what they would have received without a TIF.
Is any of this final? No. As of October 19, the residential TIF had passed only preliminary steps, and the commercial ordinance had had one reading.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If you're weighing a purchase in or near The Canyons, please check the details with Orange Village and your own attorney or tax professional.
If you're comparing new construction at The Canyons with resale homes elsewhere in Orange, we can go through the tax picture and the council calendar together so your timing fits your plans. Tiffany Scavone and The Lately Group are following this vote closely. Let's Connect.
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