$15.5 million warehouse proposed in Massapequa, would serve small firms
An architectural drawing of a warehouse proposed for Brooklyn Avenue in Massapequa. The proposal drew criticism from one member of the Nassau County IDA. Credit: Frank G. Relf Architect, P.C.
Small businesses in need of a couple hundred or a few thousand square feet of space to store equipment, supplies or finished goods are the target audience for a warehouse in Massapequa that’s being proposed by a small plumbing contractor, officials said.
George Luksch and Michael Scott, owners of Seaford Avenue Plumbing, want to construct a 95,000-square-foot warehouse at 16-20 Brooklyn Ave., an industrial area north of the Long Island Rail Road tracks between the Seaford and Massapequa stations.
The pair’s plumbing company is located across the street. They purchased the parcels that the warehouse would be built on in January and in 2013 for a total of $2.2 million, records show.
The warehouse, which would cost more than $13 million to construct and equip, would offer larger storage units on the first floor with loading docks accessible from the street. The three upper floors would have smaller units with access via two freight elevators.
The developers “see a great need for warehouse space by small businesses,” said Daniel P. Deegan, their real estate attorney. “The big warehouses, the big distribution centers that are being built [across Long Island] — those are not options for small businesses, for plumbers, for electricians or other small businesses that need storage.”
The warehouse would also serve “people who have internet businesses that need a place for inventory. That’s another potential need that we see out there,” Deegan told last week’s meeting of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
The county’s South Shore was home to nearly 10 million square feet of warehouse and factory space as of March 31, with a vacancy rate of 5.3%, or 527,450 square feet. Asking rents averaged $19.55 per square foot in the period, according to a research report from the Colliers real estate firm.
The warehouse developers have requested a package of tax breaks that includes a sales-tax exemption of up to $517,500 on the purchase of construction materials, equipment and furnishings plus $75,000 off the mortgage-recording tax. They also want 10 years of property-tax savings. Current taxes total $74,766, according to the application for IDA help.
In return, the developers have pledged to create one permanent job with an average salary of $33,000 per year. They also expect at least 10 construction workers to be employed during the 18 months that it will take to demolish the buildings on the site and put up the warehouse.
The IDA board, in a 4-1 vote, agreed to begin negotiating a tax-aid deal with the developers.
Board member Reginald A. Spinello, a former Glen Cove mayor and former chairman of that city’s IDA, voted “nay,” saying the warehouse would create too few permanent jobs to warrant the requested property-tax savings.
“I don’t see this as a boon to anything,” he said. “There’s one job. I don’t see the economic or the community benefit” that would justify a reduction in future property taxes.
Deegan, the developers’ lawyer, responded that additional jobs would be created by the small businesses that rent warehouse space.
“Right now, it’s a dilapidated site, so the elimination of the current condition is a big positive in and of itself. The construction jobs that would be required to build the project are a very big public benefit for the economy as well,” he said.
Deegan also said the warehouse project, which is east of Nassau's Tackapausha Preserve, would not be economically feasible without tax breaks because of the area’s high school taxes and the cost of construction materials.
During the meeting’s public comment period, Matthew Aracich, president of the union umbrella group Nassau-Suffolk Building and Construction Trades Council, said small contractors needed storage space.
IDA chairman William H. Rockensies, in an interview, said the proposed warehouse would create more than one permanent job because of hiring by the tenants. “I see a development like this giving us the opportunity to have a lot of secondary jobs,” he said.
Small businesses in need of a couple hundred or a few thousand square feet of space to store equipment, supplies or finished goods are the target audience for a warehouse in Massapequa that’s being proposed by a small plumbing contractor, officials said.
George Luksch and Michael Scott, owners of Seaford Avenue Plumbing, want to construct a 95,000-square-foot warehouse at 16-20 Brooklyn Ave., an industrial area north of the Long Island Rail Road tracks between the Seaford and Massapequa stations.
The pair’s plumbing company is located across the street. They purchased the parcels that the warehouse would be built on in January and in 2013 for a total of $2.2 million, records show.
The warehouse, which would cost more than $13 million to construct and equip, would offer larger storage units on the first floor with loading docks accessible from the street. The three upper floors would have smaller units with access via two freight elevators.
WHAT TO KNOW
- The owners of a small plumbing company want to construct a 95,000-square-foot warehouse on Brooklyn Avenue in Massapequa.
- The four-story building, costing $15.5 million, would provide needed storage space for small businesses and those based in homes.
- The developers' request for property-tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency was questioned by an IDA board member because the warehouse would employ only one person.
The developers “see a great need for warehouse space by small businesses,” said Daniel P. Deegan, their real estate attorney. “The big warehouses, the big distribution centers that are being built [across Long Island] — those are not options for small businesses, for plumbers, for electricians or other small businesses that need storage.”
The warehouse would also serve “people who have internet businesses that need a place for inventory. That’s another potential need that we see out there,” Deegan told last week’s meeting of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
The county’s South Shore was home to nearly 10 million square feet of warehouse and factory space as of March 31, with a vacancy rate of 5.3%, or 527,450 square feet. Asking rents averaged $19.55 per square foot in the period, according to a research report from the Colliers real estate firm.
The warehouse developers have requested a package of tax breaks that includes a sales-tax exemption of up to $517,500 on the purchase of construction materials, equipment and furnishings plus $75,000 off the mortgage-recording tax. They also want 10 years of property-tax savings. Current taxes total $74,766, according to the application for IDA help.
In return, the developers have pledged to create one permanent job with an average salary of $33,000 per year. They also expect at least 10 construction workers to be employed during the 18 months that it will take to demolish the buildings on the site and put up the warehouse.
The IDA board, in a 4-1 vote, agreed to begin negotiating a tax-aid deal with the developers.
Board member Reginald A. Spinello, a former Glen Cove mayor and former chairman of that city’s IDA, voted “nay,” saying the warehouse would create too few permanent jobs to warrant the requested property-tax savings.
The Nassau County IDA members William H. Rockensies, left, an engineer with H2M architects + engineers, and Reginald A. Spinello, right, former Glen Cove mayor. Credit: Johnny Milano
“I don’t see this as a boon to anything,” he said. “There’s one job. I don’t see the economic or the community benefit” that would justify a reduction in future property taxes.
Deegan, the developers’ lawyer, responded that additional jobs would be created by the small businesses that rent warehouse space.
“Right now, it’s a dilapidated site, so the elimination of the current condition is a big positive in and of itself. The construction jobs that would be required to build the project are a very big public benefit for the economy as well,” he said.
Deegan also said the warehouse project, which is east of Nassau's Tackapausha Preserve, would not be economically feasible without tax breaks because of the area’s high school taxes and the cost of construction materials.
During the meeting’s public comment period, Matthew Aracich, president of the union umbrella group Nassau-Suffolk Building and Construction Trades Council, said small contractors needed storage space.
IDA chairman William H. Rockensies, in an interview, said the proposed warehouse would create more than one permanent job because of hiring by the tenants. “I see a development like this giving us the opportunity to have a lot of secondary jobs,” he said.
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.