Residents oppose planned Bellport warehouse, developer's request for tax breaks

A Bellport warehouse proposal is facing opposition from residents who say too many such facilities are flooding the community.

Opponents of the plan, proposed by international real estate giant Ares Management Corp., told Newsday they also oppose the developer's request for tax breaks from the Brookhaven Town Industrial Development Agency, saying that could cause lost revenue for the South Country school district and other agencies.

"By applying to the IDA, it's stripping money from libraries, schools, roads, our public use of space," Lisa Sevimli of East Patchogue told Newsday. "The amount [of jobs] that they're bringing is not enough to pay for the taxes they won't be paying. It doesn't add up."

Ares wants to construct three buildings totaling 523,100 square feet on vacant land at the intersection of Station Road and Sunrise Highway. The $121.4 million facility, which would open in April 2024, would employ about 130 people with an average annual income of $37,000, according to the company's IDA application.

The application did not identify potential tenants. An Ares spokesman declined to comment. 

The company, a publicly traded firm affiliated with Denver-based Ares Industrial Real Estate Fund, holds $334 billion in assets, according to a Sept. 28 company news release.

Ares is seeking a 15-year payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, plan from the IDA. Ares would pay $90,588 in each of the first five years, rising to $250,000 annually for the next five years. Payments would increase 20% annually for the last five years.

The IDA could reject the request or modify it to boost PILOT payments. Supporters of PILOT plans say they help encourage economic development and job creation.

A date for an IDA vote has not been set. IDA executive director Lisa Mulligan declined to comment. 

The warehouse requires site plan approval from the town Planning Board. Brookhaven Town Board approval is not required because the site is zoned for industrial uses.

In a statement to Newsday, South Country school district Superintendent Antonio Santana took no position on the proposal but said district officials would review the plan "to determine its potential impact."

Bellport-area residents said the Ares plan adds to a deluge of warehouses and distribution centers either proposed or built in the community in recent years.

"I'm thinking it's not a good fit for the community," Dennis Nix of North Bellport told Newsday. "That company is only going to bring more trucks, more traffic, just more dangerous stuff to the community." 

Kerim Odekon, a physician and community activist from Brookhaven hamlet, said fumes from trucks serving the warehouse could exacerbate high rates of asthma in the area.

"It's up to the town to protect the residents," Odekon told Newsday. "The idea that this is an industry that needs any sort of [financial] assistance is insane."

Joann Neal, co-chair of the Greater Bellport Coalition, a civic group, said she likes that the warehouse would create jobs but said there "has to be more dialogue about this whole tax-exemption thing."

"It's something that we can negotiate," she said. "If they're flexible, then we're flexible."

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.