Thomas McNair

Executive Director
Ohio City Incorporated
Cleveland, OH

Tom McNair is Executive Director of Ohio City Incorporated (OCI), a community development corporation serving Cleveland’s historic, dynamic Ohio City neighborhood. Tom is a passionate advocate for the livability, walkability, and desirability of urban places through creative, inclusive planning, sustainable smart-growth development and mass transit, and holistic placemaking. With over a decade in the field of urban development, Tom is dedicated to advancing the future of Cleveland and the urban core.

After a decade in the corporate sector, Tom left to follow his personal passion – guiding the development and preservation of sustainable, historic, equitable urban communities. In his current role at OCI, Tom leads a staff of nine that guides the planning, promotion, and development in Ohio City, a diverse community of 10,000 residents and over 250 local businesses. Home to the West Side Market, Great Lakes Brewing Company, and nearly 100 nonprofit organizations and civic institutions including Saint Ignatius High School and Lutheran Hospital (part of the Cleveland Clinic).

Before taking on the executive position, Tom served as OCI’s the Director of Economic Development and Planning. In over four years in that role, he recruited and assisted over 70 new businesses as they opened in Ohio City, creating over 700 new jobs and reducing commercial vacancy in the neighborhood’s central business district from nearly 40% to below 2% Under his leadership, Ohio City has experienced a housing boom, with over 300 units built, over 650 currently under construction, and over 800 in planning phases for the near term.

Tom has led several planning processes that have been adopted by the Cleveland City Planning Commission including one for the City of Cleveland’s first protected bikeway.

Tom holds a bachelor degree in Interior Architecture and Design from Ohio University. Mr. McNair is a native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio and currently resides with his wife Katie, son Declan, and daughter Delaney in Cleveland’s Shaker Square neighborhood, traveling to Ohio City daily by mass transit.