LCEA and Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana keep home builders informed during Economic Outlook Breakfast

The Lake County IN Economic Alliance (LCEA) and the Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana (HBANWI) welcomed home builders of all sizes to the Halls of St. George for the annual Economic Outlook Breakfast on Thursday, October 19. Many local organizations sponsored and participated in the event.

Attendees networked over breakfast before the program began. A distinguished panel spoke about forefront political topics, including the importance of change, building, and being open minded to orderly growth and development. This panel included political commentator, Pete Seat; Steiner Homes President, Dan Steiner; MCR Partners Founder,  Matt Reardon; and Regional Development Company (RDC) 504 President & CEO, Erica Dombey.

Chris Salatas, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LCEA, took pride in the diversity of the event’s panel and attendees.

“We’ve got Dan Steiner from Steiner Homes – the custom home builder of over 50 years and a big family business. We’ve got Erica Dombey from the RDC 504, who manages many of the Small Business Administration’s small business loans, and we’ve got Matt Reardon from MCR Partners, who’s contracted with Lake & LaPorte County to handle major industrial developments in the unincorporated areas,” said Salatas. “It’s a wide breadth, and we’re going to talk about what the major changes and economic development projects in the county mean for home builders, what home building means for industry, and how it’s all tied together.”

The relationship between home building and a community’s continued growth was touched on by multiple speakers and attendees. A community’s foundation is its residents — the people who fund their towns and cities through tax dollars and support the businesses in their area through consumption.

Reardon spoke about this symbiotic relationship between businesses, residents, and home builders.

“This event is about showcasing the positive attributes of new home builders. That may sound self-evident — new things are good – but let’s talk about the impact home builders have had on Lake County specifically. This industry is responsible for $3.5 billion of new growth in Lake County over the last 10 years,” Reardon said. “When we have growth that occurs, that spreads the tax burden amongst others and lowers it forever. If we stay stagnant, everybody can either pay more tax or have less services. There are different levels of participation in this, from a small home builder who may do six to 10 homes to the national home builders that do major subdivisions.”

Jennifer Young, Executive Officer of HBANWI, echoed Reardon’s sentiments, believing that the interconnectedness of community organizations is key to driving growth.

“We have about 177 members. Not only is that representative of residential banking, real estate suppliers, manufacturers, it also includes tradesmen. We’ve partnered with our community, and that’s why we have gatherings like this,” said Young. “We’re blessed to team up with LCEA because growth goes hand-in-hand with residential development. People are moving into our area, and they don’t have adequate arrangements. That’s a very difficult position for all involved, so we always try to make sure we’re ahead of the curve and proactive at the table to have these types of conversations so that we continue to move forward.”

The Economic Outlook Breakfast provided the perfect opportunity for Lake County’s home building community to network, listen, and learn more about the modern issues facing the industry and how everyone can move forward together. 

For more information on the Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana, visit hbanwi.com.

Learn more about the Lake County IN Economic Alliance at lcea.us.