Aventura Technologies to expand, offer incubator for start-ups
Aventura Technologies Inc. hopes to expand into the building at 48 Mall Dr. in Commack to open a business incubator for technology start-ups. The building, seen here on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014, has been the home of pharmaceutical giant Forest Laboratories. Credit: Ed Betz
A manufacturer of security systems used by governments and corporations wants to expand in Commack and open a business incubator for technology startups, executives said.
Aventura Technologies Inc. hopes to purchase 48 Mall Dr., which has been home to pharmaceutical giant Forest Laboratories. The drugmaker announced in September that it was moving most of its operations to New Jersey.
An Aventura executive said that it had outgrown its rented office, factory and warehouse at 180 Adams Ave. in Hauppauge. Jonathan Lasker, the company's operations director, said demand for security cameras, software and monitoring equipment has increased because of violence at home and abroad.
He said 60 percent of Aventura's sales come from the federal government, including the Treasury Department, Homeland Security Department and Defense Department.
The 14-year-old company also has provided security systems to public schools in Wichita, Kansas, and Washington, D.C., and the Caribbean island of Aruba.
"All of our products are assembled" on Long Island, Lasker told the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency last week.
In addition to accommodating Aventura's growth, the 19,533-square-foot building in Commack would house an incubator for startups, which could receive technical assistance and financial support from Aventura.
"We want to help college students, young entrepreneurs to start a business," Lasker said, adding the incubator would be the size of 30 office cubicles.
Frances Cabasso, owner and chief executive of Aventura, said in an application for IDA tax breaks that his company hopes "to provide small grants to the [college] students" and universities "to develop sought-after technology, which ultimately can create revenues and resulting jobs."
The grant recipients would likely be housed in the incubator. The $3 million project is expected to add eight jobs to Aventura's payroll of 20. Records show that employees earn, on average, $80,000 per year.
Seeking to keep the business from leaving Long Island, the Suffolk IDA offered $306,308 in tax incentives, including a $254,633 reduction in property taxes over 12 years.
