Nassau County Industrial Development Agency to consider new round of tax breaks for Port Washington retirement community
As much as $10 million in renovations are planned for the Harborside in Port Washington, seen here last year, if the project gains additional tax breaks from the Nassau IDA on Thursday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Directors of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency are expected on Thursday to consider awarding more tax breaks to the Harborside retirement community in Port Washington, formerly called the Amsterdam at Harborside, which has filed for bankruptcy three times in the past 10 years, officials said.
The proposed tax aid over 20 years is crucial to the Harborside resolving its latest bankruptcy by being purchased by Life Care Services Communities. Iowa-based LCS is the nation’s third-largest manager of retirement communities
If the $101 million deal goes through, the Harborside will remain open and undergo $10 million in renovations, said Daniel P. Deegan, LCS’ real estate attorney.
He also said LCS would pay more than $90 million in resident-refund obligations that the current owner hasn’t been able to honor.
The Harborside “has been through a lot of financial challenges … It’s in disrepair, a tired facility,” Deegan said on Monday, referring to the 14-year-old complex at 300 East Overlook. “It has a 50% [vacancy rate] right now. It really needs somebody to come in and infuse money and credibility.”
Deegan and others said that without the additional tax breaks, LCS won’t be able to complete the purchase.
Under the proposed incentive package, LCS would receive a sales-tax exemption of up to $252,281 on the purchase of equipment, fixtures and furnishings, plus $740,530 off the mortgage-recording tax.
The property-tax savings would last for two decades. However, in the first year of the deal, the affected taxing jurisdictions would receive $440,370 compared with the $275,000 that they received in 2022, based on the most recent available records from the state and IDA.
Under prior tax-break deals, the Harborside saved more than $32 million off property taxes between the mid-2000s and 2022, the records show.
In return for the additional tax savings, the Harborside’s new owner, LCS, has promised to add 54 jobs to the facility’s workforce of 80 people over three years, according to the application for IDA assistance.
Deegan, LCS’ attorney, said on Monday that the company would pay off the IDA bonds issued for the Harborside’s construction in 2007 and to help it emerge from bankruptcy twice. The bonds, both taxable and tax exempt, total about $160 million.
LCS also plans to convert the nonprofit Harborside to a for-profit business. The facility has about 200 residents with an average age of 90 in 329 units that offer different levels of care as they age.
The tax aid package is on the agenda for Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. IDA board meeting in the county legislature’s chamber in Mineola.
There were no public comments during Monday's 15-minute public hearing, but IDA CEO Sheldon L. Shrenkel said comments would be accepted up to 3 p.m. on Wednesday via info@nassauida.org.
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.
Reaction to the Presidential debate ... Newfield High posthumous diploma ... Lindenhurst fatal sentencing ... FeedMe: New Hamptons restaurant
Reaction to the Presidential debate ... Newfield High posthumous diploma ... Lindenhurst fatal sentencing ... FeedMe: New Hamptons restaurant