Hilton groundbreaking in Carle Place

Nassau County could potentially land more businesses, or at least some more deals, because of a planned hotel in Carle Place, officials said Tuesday.

The Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel at 40 Westbury Ave. will cater to out-of-town executives who are spending more than a couple of days here. As they explore Long Island some may decide to do more business or even move their company here, the officials said.

The hotel's developer, AVR Realty Co. Llc  of Yonkers, held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday with builders and Nassau politicians and economic developers. The 150-unit hotel is expected to open in about 15 months.

"Ninety-percent of the clientele will be corporate, and hopefully some of them will like what they see here and stick around," said Allan V. Rose, owner and chief executive of AVR Realty.

He built his first Nassau hotel 45 years ago: a Howard Johnson in Westbury. His company also owns three strip plazas on Long Island, including the nearby Carle Place Shopping Center.

Rose said the Homewood Suites project, valued at $19 million, would not have moved from the drawing board to construction without aid from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.

The IDA provided a $500,000 exemption on sales tax for equipment and furnishings, and $180,000 off the mortgage recording tax. A payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement for 20 years calls for property taxes to be frozen at their current rate for three years and then to increase gradually over the next 17 years.

IDA executive director Joseph J. Kearney said, "This hotel will attract corporate executives and all types of executives, the kind of people that we want to get our message out to about doing business in the county."

Kearney and others noted the hotel site was home to an E.J. Korvette Co. department store from 1954 through 1980. More recently, the land near the corner of Glen Cove Road and Westbury Avenue was used by BOCES and to store automobiles.

The hotel project will create 39 permanent jobs and 70 construction jobs, which together will generate $15.1 million in economic activity.

"High taxes kill jobs," said Nassau Executive Edward Mangano. "We understand that, and by creating private-sector jobs, revitalizing dilapidated properties and generating new revenue we can hold the line on taxes."