Nassau Industrial Development Agency OKs tax breaks for planned Mineola housing developments

The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency has granted tax breaks for a trio of planned housing developments totaling 592 units near the Mineola train station.

The $354 million investment from Lake Success based-developer Kevin Lalezarian will help revitalize a “very depressed area of the village,” Mayor Paul Pereira said, and continue the village’s push to bolster its housing stock. Twelve percent of the units, or 72, will be affordable.

“In addition to growing the tax base as a result of maximizing these underutilized properties, the 592 new units will be great for local merchants and taxing jurisdictions,” Sheldon Shrenkel, CEO and executive director of the IDA, said in a statement. “Given each of their proximity to the Mineola train station and Roosevelt Field shopping mall, these projects are a welcomed addition to Nassau County and we are looking forward to them getting off the ground.”

In February, Mineola was certified as a “pro-housing” community by the state, a designation given to municipalities that have demonstrated a commitment to increasing housing options. It has built more than 1,100 multifamily apartment units over the past 12 years, Pereira said, bringing the village total to at least 3,000.

“These units have consistently been rented out,” Pereira said. “These buildings are full with either young professionals or empty nesters. People that are a value added to the village.”

The new buildings will be located at 120 Third St., 125 Third St. and 111 Second St., all of which in the evening become poorly lit “ghost towns,” Pereira said. The IDA on Dec. 19 approved a 25-year tax incentive package for all three, which will be a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. 

“It brings new life into these traditionally, historically depressed areas, right along the tracks,” Pereira said.

The Second Street development, which will be built on vacant land, will have 92 units. The IDA package includes a sales tax exemption of up to $1,598,557.50, with a mortgage tax exemption of up to $315,000. A portion of that land will be acquired as part of a land swap with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to an IDA cover letter written by Daniel Deegan, the developer’s attorney.

The two buildings on Third Street will have 250 units each. The IDA granted each a mortgage tax exemption of $990,000. The 120 Third St. location was also awarded a sales tax exemption of up to $5,153,783, and the 125 Third St. building a $5,222,610 sales tax exemption. An unused parking garage and an old office building will be demolished to make room for the buildings.

The developer will also build a park adjacent to the Second Street development, with a playground and a putting green, Pereira said.

The tax rate will increase 2% each year starting after the first year for all three projects, Shrenkel said.

This is not the first time the developer has won tax breaks for a Mineola property. In 2015, Lalezarian won approval for a planned 266-unit development on Second Street, also near the train station.

"We believe these projects will further enhance the Mineola downtown success story by removing blighted, outdated structures to add much needed housing," Lalezarian said in a statement. 

CORRECTION: A photo of a building in Mineola that accompanied an earlier version of this story incorrectly identified it as a Third Street site for one of the planned developments.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.