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Proponent Testimony — Tim Bete, St. Mary Development Corporation, House Bill 3 (Ohio)

Summary

Proponent testimony of Tim Bete, President of St. Mary Development Corporation, a faith-based nonprofit headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, before the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee on House Bill 3, which creates a state tax credit for workforce and affordable housing. The testimony states that over the past 34 years the corporation has developed 50 apartment communities in Ohio with more than 3,500 units. It states that a state housing tax credit will allow St. Mary to double the number of new apartment communities it creates each year.

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“Proponent Testimony — Tim Bete, St. Mary Development Corporation, House Bill 3 (Ohio).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-03-14-econ-workforce-dev-testimony-testimony-852-6dc7d732e3/, SHA-256 4784f8e83e028e4a4f6b9fe9deeb9cc850df8ed9a962beb96d9939f3e61cfa6e.

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                                                                        2160 E. 5th Street, Dayton, OH 45403
                                                            Office: 937-277-8149 ext. 210 Fax: 937-277-8230
                                                                              www.StMaryDevelopment.org



Chair Swearingen, Vice Chair Santucci, Ranking Member Upchurch and members of the House
Economic and Workforce Development Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to stand
before you today and give proponent testimony on House Bill 3, which creates a state tax credit
for workforce and affordable housing.

My name is Tim Bete. I’m the President of St. Mary Development Corporation, a faith-based
nonprofit headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. We develop apartment communities for working
Ohioans, as well as for seniors and veterans, and we provide Service Coordination to connect
our residents to the services they need to continue to live independently. Over the past 34 years,
we’ve developed 50 apartment communities in Ohio with more than 3,500 units.

Most of our apartment communities were created using the federal low-income housing tax-
credit program (LIHTC). Tax credits make it possible to charge rents that allow residents to
afford other necessities, such as healthcare, transportation, and healthy food. Because our focus
is on housing for older people, including older veterans, we pride ourselves on helping our
residents age in place. That’s what our residents want, and it also makes great fiscal sense
because every month a resident remains independent in one of our apartments means the State
isn’t paying more than $6,000 for a Medicaid nursing home bed.

The federal housing tax-credit program encourages the development of new rental housing
through funds that offset construction costs in exchange for agreeing to reserve units that are
affordable for working Ohioans and seniors.

We create market studies to determine demand before we build a new property, but in Ohio,
market studies for senior housing aren’t necessary. You can throw a dart at a map of Ohio and
no matter where you hit, there will be a huge shortage of senior housing, especially for those
with annual incomes less than $35,000.

Almost every family in Ohio has members who qualify to live in our apartments. In
Montgomery County, for example, a senior who lives alone can have an annual income of just
more than $35,000 per year and still qualify to live in our apartments. Representative
Blackshear’s grandfather lived at Lyons Place II, one of our veteran apartments. Congressman
Mike Turner’s grandmother lived at Huffman Place; an apartment community created by St.
Mary. The housing tax-credit program allowed them to live their final years surrounded by
family and friends.

We’re blessed in this country to have long life expectancy. America's population of people 90-
and-older has almost tripled since 1980, reaching 1.9 million in 2010 and will continue to
increase to more than 7.6 million over the next 40 years (U.S. Census Bureau). But having the
financial resources to live 20 to 30 years after retirement is difficult. In the US, the median
retirement savings for people 55 to 64 is only about $90,000 (Vanguard). That’s not a lot if you
live to be 95, even with Social Security.
                                                                      2160 E. 5th Street, Dayton, OH 45403
                                                          Office: 937-277-8149 ext. 210 Fax: 937-277-8230
                                                                            www.StMaryDevelopment.org




A state housing tax credit will allow St. Mary to double the number of new apartment
communities we create each year, providing hundreds of new high-quality apartment homes for
seniors and veterans as they age. It makes good fiscal sense for Ohio’s taxpayers, and it makes
sense for the members in each of our families who need a place to live as they grow older.

On behalf of St. Mary Development Corporation and those Ohioans we serve, we appreciate
your consideration ask for your support of HB 3. I would be happy to answer any questions you
may have.

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