Aceto HQ in Port Washington sells for $8 million

A corporate headquarters building in Port Washington has been purchased for $8 million by a commercial real estate company, also based in the hamlet, executives said.

BEB Capital bought 4 Tri Harbor Court from chemicals supplier Aceto. A BEB spokesman told Newsday this week that Aceto "will remain" in the 47,700-square-foot building.

The acquisition is part of BEB’s strategy of "building its office and industrial [properties] portfolio throughout the Long Island area," said company CEO Lee Brodsky, adding it owns more than a dozen properties in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

He said, "4 Tri Harbor Court provides a great opportunity to capitalize on industrial demand and renewed interest in suburban offices since the onset of the pandemic." Warehouse space constitutes 40% of the Port Washington building.

Aceto’s predecessor, which used the same name, made $7.8 million in improvements to 4 Tri Harbor Court in 2010 with help from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency and Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency. The assistance was provided in return for the company moving its HQ from Lake Success to Port Washington, instead of to Pennsylvania.

Nine years later, the IDA clawed back $170,740 in tax breaks after Aceto filed for bankruptcy, citing massive debt and mounting losses from its Rising Pharmaceuticals division in New Jersey. Aceto was sold off in pieces during a court-supervised auction.

The company's chemicals unit was purchased by the private equity firm New Mountain Capital in Manhattan for $422 million and the present-day Aceto was established.

The Aceto HQ purchase isn’t part of BEB’s plan to buy up to $1 billion in offices, factories and warehouses in the Northeast with Boston private equity firm Rockpoint Group, according to the BEB spokesman.

The BEB-Rockpoint joint venture, formed last year, has purchased two buildings in Suffolk County so far for a total of $33 million: 100 Marcus Blvd. in Hauppauge and 44 Ramsey Rd. in Shirley.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.