Dealertrack gets $12M from state to stay on Long Island

Dealertrack Technologies, one of the region's fastest-growing software companies, will receive $12 million in state tax breaks and grants in exchange for keeping its headquarters on Long Island and adding more than 350 jobs, officials said Friday.

The deal marks one of the largest corporate incentive packages New York has ever granted to a Long Island company. Dealertrack, which makes programs for auto dealers, considered more than 100 sites in five states before deciding to stay in Nassau County.

"Since day one, my administration's top priority has been creating jobs and economic opportunities for New Yorkers, and Dealertrack Technologies is bringing both to Long Island in a big way," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in a statement announcing the deal.

The move comes after more than two dozen once-local public companies have left Long Island or folded in recent years. Earlier this week, Bovie Medical Corp. confirmed that it has closed its Melville headquarters and plans to open a larger office in Westchester County.

Dealertrack, founded on Long Island in 2001, has quietly boomed into one of the area's biggest software companies as local officials have pushed to develop a high-tech economy here.

The company, which employs 3,500 people nationwide and about 400 at its Lake Success headquarters, has doubled its annual revenue, to $481.5 million, since 2009. This year, analysts predict sales will rise to more than $800 million.

"Dealertrack was founded here on Long Island, and we remain committed to our local team members, our customers, Long Island and New York for making our company what it is today," said Mark O'Neil, the company's chairman and CEO.

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As part of its local expansion, Dealertrack will move its headquarters to New Hyde Park Road in North Hills, about one mile from its current location on Marcus Avenue. It also plans to add more than 350 jobs within the next four years.

The incentive package from Empire State Development, New York's chief economic development agency, includes $10.5 million in tax credits over the next decade and a $1.5 million capital grant. Both hinge on the company adding local jobs.

Dealertrack is still negotiating a package of property- and sales-tax breaks with Nassau County. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement in the coming weeks.

"Businesses like Dealertrack are the heartbeat of our local economy," Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said.