Developer gets IDA tax breaks to build $5.6 million PODS location

A planned PODS storage business adjacent to the East Hampton airport has won $556,140 in tax breaks over 10 years from Suffolk County.

PODS, or Portable On Demand Storage, wants to open its fourth location on Long Island at 86 Industrial Rd. in Wainscott. The 43,757-square-foot warehouse and office will be built and owned by developer Gary Krupnick.

The $5.6 million project will sit on land leased from East Hampton Town and is contingent on tax breaks from the county’s Industrial Development Agency, he said last week.

The business delivers portable storage containers that customers load with furniture and other household goods. The containers can be stored in customers' driveways, stored at a PODS facility, or moved as part of a relocation.

The Wainscott location will be able to accommodate 600 filled PODS containers.

“There is great demand for this on the East End,” Krupnick told a meeting of the IDA board. “The Calverton location is having trouble serving the entire East End, there's so much demand.”

 He said many residents need the storage when building new homes, having existing ones renovated or recovering from a natural disaster such as superstorm Sandy.

“This isn’t retail,” Krupnick said. “You cannot come to the facility and take stuff out of your POD and put stuff in. You cannot access your POD 24/7…This isn’t like a self-storage facility.”

Thursday, the IDA granted preliminary approval for tax breaks, including property-tax savings of $240,665 over 10 years or a 27.5 percent reduction. In return, PODS will create 12 jobs within three years that pay, on average, $43,833 per year.

“The town wants this and it supports the construction industry,” said IDA executive director Anthony J. Catapano. “This is not a garage or basement where you have access at will to your stuff. …This isn’t self-storage.”

Another PODS facility in Hauppauge was awarded tax breaks by the Islip Town IDA.

Previously, the Nassau County IDA was criticized for granting tax breaks to self-storage facilities that only create a handful of low-paying jobs.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

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.