Northwell Health buys Hain Celestial's former Lake Success headquarters 

Northwell Health is taking advantage of an opening left by the exit of what was one of Long Island’s largest publicly traded companies, organic and natural products maker Hain Celestial.

In March, Hain vacated a Lake Success building it was leasing as its headquarters, allowing Northwell, the largest health care provider in the state, to buy the 86,000-square-foot building and about 2 acres at 1111 Marcus Ave. the following month.

Northwell, which already has a facility attached to the rear of the Marcus Avenue property, plans to use its newly purchased four-story building mostly for training and educational purposes, said Joe Moscola, executive vice president of Enterprise Services at Northwell. 

The building that Hain occupied was a temporary home to the United Nations, starting in the late 1940s.  

Northwell bought the building from Waterstone Properties Group Inc., a Needham, Massachusetts-based company.

Waterstone did not respond to a request for comment.

The rear of the former Hain building is connected to an approximately 750,000-square-foot facility on 80 acres at 450 Lakeville Road, which Northwell has occupied since 2015.

Northwell’s headquarters is across the street at 2000 Marcus Ave.

The purchase of the former Hain building helps change the landscape of Northwell in Lake Success, Moscola said.

“This becomes more of like a campus feel.  At least that’s what we’re going to be going for. It’s this major hub for Northwell and for our patients,” he said.

In the former Hain building, Northwell plans to include a conference center, simulation laboratories for training clinical staff, three-dimensional printing for educational and clinical purposes, an innovation hub for training in different technologies and methodologies, virtual reality training and leadership development courses, he said.

The nonprofit health system will begin to move in next month, and 100 employees will relocate from various  sites in the Northwell system to Marcus Avenue over the next year, he said.

The existing Northwell facility at 450 Lakeville Road includes the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center, ambulatory surgery, imaging, pediatrics and maternal-fetal medicine, as well as some shared services, such as human resources and risk management.

About 5,000 people work there, Moscola said.

Northwell’s purchase of the former Hain building closed April 12, he said.

He declined to disclose the sale price because it included  Hain’s lease. 

Northwell plans to invest $50 million, excluding the property purchase price, on equipment and other costs for the site, said Moscola.  The health care provider hopes to pay most of that with philanthropic gifts from donors, he said.

Early exit

The Hain Celestial Group Inc. had moved into the Marcus Avenue building in 2012 under a tax-break deal with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency that called for the company to lease and renovate the building and boost employment from 250 to 300 full-time positions.

After vacating the building in March, Hain had to repay nearly $1.3 million in tax breaks it received since 2012 because it broke an agreement with the IDA to stay on the property until at least 2030.

Hain, which is classifying its Boulder, Colorado, facility as its headquarters, told Newsday in March that its Lake Success building was too large because of the shift to remote work over the past three years.  The company said its Long Island employees would work remotely or at other Hain sites until a new headquarters was selected.

Hain manufactures and sells food and beverage products under dozens of brands, including Celestial Seasonings, Earth’s Best and Terra. Its personal care brands include Alba Botanica, Avalon Organics and Queen Helene.

The company was Long Island's fifth-largest publicly traded company in fiscal 2021, with revenue at $1.97 billion.

But Hain has become smaller over the last few years. It has sold off some brands to focus on more-profitable lines and reduced its workforce. Also, its profits have declined.

In the third quarter that ended March 31, Hain had a net loss of $115.7 million, compared to net income of $24.5 million in the same period a year earlier.

The company had 231 full-time equivalent employees in Lake Success as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to an IDA report filed with the New York State Authorities Budget Office.

Hain did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.