Tax Breaks For Apartment Property
/By Jano Tantongco
jtantongco@longislandergroup.com
Long Islander News photo/archives
A three-story mixed-use building including 12 apartments is planned to be built on this Huntington village property on the northeast corner of Stewart Avenue and Gerard Street. Suffolk’s IDA recently granted more than $600,000 in tax breaks for the property.
The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency has granted more than $600,000 in tax breaks for a mixed-use building including 12 apartments that’s planned to be built in Huntington village.
The tax breaks, which will go into effect once a certificate of occupancy is granted, were awarded to Stewart Avenue Ventures, which plans to build at 30 Stewart Ave., adjacent to the Huntington Ice House apartment complex. The first floor of the planned three-story building will be made up of 4,863 square feet of retail space. Twelve apartments will be split between the two upper floors.
Suffolk County IDA Executive Director Anthony Catapano said Stewart Avenue Ventures would receive a 15-year property tax abatement worth $442,399 on the increase in property tax from the assessed value resulting from the development. The original property tax of $15,589 would still be paid in full.
Catapano said the estimated assessed value taxes come to $117,290. After deducting the original property tax, $101,701 remains. Of that, 50 percent would be abated. The abatement will decrease each year by 3 percent over a 15-year period, resulting in a net savings of 25 percent.
Additionally, Stewart Avenue Ventures will receive $73,500 in mortgage recording tax exemptions, and $111,263 in sales tax exemptions.
Catapano said nonprofit National Development Council, which specializes in municipal housing, also provided their input.
“They felt it was an appropriate use for IDA assistance because of the Brownfield and the additional cost that would be incurred for the development,” Catapano said.
Part of the reasoning for award the tax breaks included necessary modifications and remediations to the site. The site is currently under review by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation under the Brownfield Cleanup Program.
According to DEC records, the site was first developed sometime between 1902 and 1908 with a residence on the southern part of the property, and a Consolidated Ice Company facility on the north part of the site.
There have been two business on the property, a wholesale lobster company and an upholstery repair shop. Also, a small building in the southeast portion of the site contains industrial equipment like gasoline and diesel tanks, spray paints and power washers.
Additionally, Catapano said that because of the grade of the land, additional site work would be needed to allow access to the adjacent parking lot.
The property requires 53 parking stalls, according to town code. Plans currently show that 23 parking spots would be provided. The Huntington Town Board agreed in July to sell a 7,000-foot parcel of town-owned land adjacent to the property that would serve as an additional parking lot for the site, adding 18 spaces.
The Zoning Board of Appeals granted conditional approval to the developer in July to use the lot to make up the missing spots.
