Tax breaks for housing project at former Great Neck Estates theater

The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency has granted tax breaks for a mixed-use apartment complex on the former site of the historic First Playhouse Theater in Great Neck Estates after the developer made an appeal while citing financial difficulties with the project.

First Playhouse of Great Neck Corp. began negotiating with the IDA in March before the deal's approval last week.

The project has been in the works for nearly a decade, with preservationists fighting the demolition of the original building before it was knocked down in 2020.

The county agency granted the developer's request for a sales tax break of $1,270,462.50 and a mortgage tax benefit of $116,250, records show.

The IDA also approved a 21-year PILOT — payment in lieu of taxes — with a tax freeze for the first year, before a steady increase for the next 20 years. The developers had asked for a 23-year PILOT, with a three-year tax freeze.

The applicant’s attorney, Paul Bloom, previously said the developers had to scale down the project because of financial challenges.

“This building cannot financially be built unless the owner comes out of pocket for another $15 million, unless this board grants our request for assistance,” Bloom told the board in March.

The Village of Great Neck Estates originally approved a five-story structure, but now the $21.6 million project is slated to be four stories, with 20 units and a total of 43,000 square feet that includes retail space on the ground floor. 

The development will include four one-bedroom apartments, 12 two-bedroom units and four three-bedroom units — including two units that will rent at a lower rate.

Records show Jan Soleimani and Andre Sakhai are the owners and developers of the building after buying the property in 1994 for $800,000. Soleimani thanked the IDA for its approval at last week's meeting.

Nassau IDA Chairman William Rockensies said that taxing jurisdictions will benefit from a more than $2.5 million increase in revenue over the course of the agency's agreement with the developer, even with the breaks in place.

“First Playhouse of Great Neck will turn this currently vacant property into much needed housing units and provide local businesses with 3,000 square feet of new retail spaces with on-site parking,” he added.

Built in the 1920s, the theater hosted notable entertainers such as Irving Berlin and the Marx Brothers before closing in the 1980s and later becoming a six-unit apartment complex.