Developer asks IDA for 20 years of tax breaks for Greenvale factory
Steel Equities in Bethpage is buying the Slant/Fin building in Greenvale, pictured in 2016. Credit: Howard Schnapp
A developer is seeking tax breaks from Nassau County for a Greenvale factory that it plans to purchase and renovate from a soon-to-close manufacturer.
Steel Equities in Bethpage has requested more than $536,000 in tax savings over 20 years from the county's Industrial Development Agency to support the $38.6 million revamp of 100 Forest Dr. The 192,650-square-foot building is the longtime home of Slant/Fin Corp., executives said.
Six years ago, the IDA also granted 20 years of tax breaks to Slant/Fin in return for it staying in the county and investing $3 million in robots and other equipment to produce baseboard heating equipment and boilers. The company had considered moving to Connecticut, officials said at the time.
Separately, Slant/Fin was awarded a New York State grant and tax credits of up to $600,000 for the expansion project by Empire State Development, the state's primary business-aid agency. The incentives "were rescinded in 2017" at the company's request, ESD spokeswoman Emily Mijatovic said on Tuesday.
More recently, Slant/Fin has sold its baseboard business to a Massachusetts firm and the workforce of about 250 has gradually dwindled. In April, Slant/Fin told the New York State Department of Labor that it planned to lay off 122 employees "due to [the] economic climate."
The company's IDA tax-aid package was terminated in March 2021 and it repaid $10,724 in tax breaks, IDA officials said on Tuesday.
On March 14, Slant/Fin agreed to sell the Greenvale facility to Steel Equities for $33 million, according to the latter’s application for IDA tax breaks.
Slant/Fin “will be moving out in late September,” Joseph J. Lostritto, co-owner of Steel Equities, told the IDA board last month. “This is really an obsolete, old industrial building that needs upgrading … [and we] most likely will make it a multi-tenant building.”
He and others said the building is one level in some places and two levels elsewhere. The improvements will include a new roof, lighting and electrical and ventilation systems, among others.
Lostritto predicted the renovations would take about a year to complete. He said no tenants have yet committed to renting the space.
IDA board secretary Timothy Williams said he is generally opposed to granting tax breaks for projects without confirmed tenants. But he said he would “make an exception because Steel Equities has a good track record” with the agency.
Previously, the developer won IDA help for projects in Bethpage and Mineola, most notably the former Grumman manufacturing complex, which received 40 years of tax breaks in 2011.
The board voted unanimously last month to begin negotiations for a tax-aid package with Steel Equities for the Slant/Fin building.
IDA chairman Richard Kessel said, “To be able to utilize that facility and bring jobs there is critically important because people are losing their jobs [with Slant/Fin’s closure]. And you are creating a situation where we could actually add jobs there,” he said.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
