Proposed Yaphank warehouse, trucking terminal will fill 'growing need' for storage space on Long Island, company officials say

A proposed warehouse and trucking terminal in Yaphank would fill a growing need for distribution center space on Long Island, representatives of the company proposing the project said last week.

The 332,970-square-foot facility at Station and Horseblock roads would join numerous other distribution centers planned in Brookhaven and other towns.

Newsday reported last year that 25 warehouse projects consisting of more than 11 million square feet of space had been proposed on the Island. 

The Yaphank project is proposed by AIREF II of Rutherford, New Jersey, a subsidiary of Ares Industrial Real Estate Fund, a global investment firm with principal offices in New York, Denver and Hong Kong.

Ares also has proposed a 523,100-square-foot warehouse in Bellport that is awaiting Brookhaven Town approvals. 

The $45 million Yaphank project would “address the growing need” for storage buildings on Long Island, Anthony Guardino, a lawyer for AIREF II, told the Brookhaven Town Planning Board during a July 10 hearing. He said there would be a "30-fold" increase in annual tax revenue from the property, which he said currently generates $35,000 in yearly tax payments.

Guardino said the project does not yet have tenants, adding he expected the facility to house up to three tenants.

AIREF II is seeking planning board approval of a special permit for the trucking portion of the project. The board did not vote last week and did not indicate when it plans to take a vote.

The proposal otherwise complies with the site's industrial zoning, so it does not require town board approval.

Two nearby residents spoke against the project.

Suzanne Coopersmith of Medford said the site is in a "hydrogeological sensitive zone" because of nearby drinking water wells. 

"What is more important — the created revenue or the clean water for the community?" Coopersmith said at the hearing. "What message are you going to send?"

Mel Evans of Medford said Station Road is too narrow to accommodate trucks.

“People walk on this road and I see them all the time," he said. "It is a dangerous road. People can’t walk safely on it.”

The Suffolk County Water Authority had opposed an auto storage yard that had been proposed for the site about four years ago, citing concerns that wells would be contaminated. That project was later rejected by the planning board.

The water authority did not respond Friday to a request for comment. 

Guardino said the developer had switched the location of truck bays from the north side to the south at the request of the Medford Taxpayers and Civic Association.

The civic group's vice president, Don Seubert, said Friday he did not know if the group had taken a position on the project.

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.