The proposed building would contain one and two-bedroom apartments for independent living, according to Victoria Long, director of development services for St. Mary Development. It will contain amenities such as a community room with kitchenette, a business center with computers and a fitness area. Individual units will be equipped with all appliances, including a dishwasher and microwave and washer and dryer hookups in unit, Long said.
“There is currently limited availability in existing affordable housing properties,” Long said. “Tax Credit and Government subsidized projects are currently at 99 or 100% occupancy and all of the properties have waiting lists.
“The need is great and all areas of the County need affordable housing so that the seniors can stay in the communities where their families, doctors, places of worship are located so that they may receive the community support they need as they age.”
She said a 2021 Housing Needs Assessment showed that 42.5% of renter households in Montgomery County were rent burdened (paying more than 30% of their income toward housing). The study also pointed out the need for affordable senior-oriented housing.
St. Mary Development is applying to fund more than $1.2 million of the nearly $19.2 million project through Dayton Regional Priority Development and Advocacy Committee (PDAC) funding.
The PDAC committee, led by the Dayton Development Coalition and local Chambers of Commerce, ranks dozens of local project funding requests each year. The DDC says that “allows the Dayton region to speak with one voice” when seeking funding from various government, business and other agencies.
Planned sources of funding include low-income housing tax credits ($15.6 million), permanent first mortgage ($500,000), congressional district spending (more than $1.2 million) and deferred developer fees ($177,500). None of the funding sources are committed right now, Long told this news outlet.
Although there are two digital renderings for the site, Long told this news outlet the project is “very early in the process.”
“The earliest we would be starting the permit process would be spring of 2026,” she said. “Construction would start in 2026, if the project is funded and would not be ready for occupancy until mid-2027. There are many steps in between.”
St. Leonard already offers senior affordable housing at the Joseph Bernardin Residence, according to Centerville Assistant City Manager Tyler Roark.
“Increasing the supply of senior affordable housing will help St. Leonard to further its mission of serving seniors in our region,” Roark said in a letter of support to PDAC. “I recommend that St. Mary be granted the requested funds of $1.25 million to help meet Centerville’s senior affordable housing needs.”
Roark said that based on the information shared with city staff in November, the project appears to meet the zoning requirements for a multi-family residential development; however, the project must still go through the planning approval process.
St. Mary is in the process of developing more than 70 senior and family projects with more than 4,700 units across 11 states, Roark said. St. Leonard, a continuing care retirement community on a 240-acre campus, incorporates various housing types and has been “a vital partner” in serving Centerville’s senior housing needs since 1982, he said.
Since St. Leonard transitioned from a seminary to a senior care campus, it has “grown exponentially” in providing service for all levels of care, according to Prentice Lipsey, president and CEO of CHI Living Communities.
That includes memory care, rehabilitation and therapy services, assisted and independent living, long-term care and independent cottage and garden home options to its “younger, recently retired demographic looking for the safety and security of a campus environment,” Lipsey said.
“With the creation of the 58 Affordable Independent Living Housing project, we feel the St. Leonard campus can continue with its mission of providing a safe, secure and now more affordable housing option for the aging senior population,” said Lipsey, in a letter of support. “With the rising cost of health care in the U.S., we feel our seniors should have options when it comes to the cost of housing. This affordable housing project will provide just that.”
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