Damianos Realty Group, Smithtown developer, buys office building near Nassau Coliseum for $15.5M

A Smithtown developer has bought a six-story office building near Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum for $15.5 million.

Damianos Realty Group LLC announced on Monday its purchase of 50 Charles Lindbergh Blvd. in Uniondale’s Mitchel Field neighborhood from Manhattan-based RXR.

The 240,000-square-foot building was constructed in the mid-1980s and is valued at $34 million, according to the Nassau County Department of Assessment.

X. Cristofer Damianos, a principal in his family’s real estate business, said, "We have plans to fully renovate 50 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard to meet the elevated standards of our Class A+ portfolio" of buildings.

He said renovations will be made to the lobby, hallways, restrooms, conference center, gym and cafe.

Damianos Realty owns more than 1.5 million square feet in 28 properties in Suffolk County, including 100 Motor Pkwy. in Hauppauge, the Floyd Harbor shopping plaza in Shirley and Stony Brook Medical Park in Stony Brook. The company was founded in 1968 by the late Dr. Xenophon Damianos and initially focused on medical offices, nursing facilities and adult homes.

Tenants of the Charles Lindbergh Boulevard building include law firms and insurers. About half the space is vacant, Damianos told Newsday.

Still, demand for office space on Long Island has increased dramatically since the coronavirus pandemic.

In Nassau, the vacancy rate was 12.3% in the July-September period, the lowest since 2022, according to a report from the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.

"The office sector continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience, with strong leasing momentum and a steady decline in vacancy," said Dimitri Mastrogiannis, a senior research analyst at Cushman, in announcing the quarterly vacancy rates this month.

The Charles Lindbergh Boulevard building captured headlines in 2007-08 when then-owner RexCorp installed an ice storage plant to provide cool air and save electricity. Ice was made at night and melted during the day to cool the building, executives said at the time.

RXR, through a spokesman, declined to comment on Tuesday.

RXR, which is run by CEO Scott Rechler, also owns the Omni office building and RXR Plaza, both in Uniondale, and built the Garvies Point housing development in Glen Cove. 

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.