Forest Labs gets tax breaks to stay on LI

Drugmaker Forest Laboratories Inc. plans to merge its nine area operations into four buildings in Commack and Hauppauge instead of moving out of state, officials said Thursday.

Forest, based in Manhattan, is best known for its Bystolic, Daliresp, Lexapro, Namenda, Savella and Teflaro medicines. With roots in Inwood, the pharmaceutical giant began moving operations to Suffolk County in the 1990s.

However, Forest now uses only about 45 percent of the 945,000 square feet of space it owns or rents in the county, according to the county's industrial development agency. To remedy the problem, executives want to convert the company's former packaging facility at 500 Commack Rd. in Commack into a complex for research and development and administrative activities. The packaging and warehouse work done there was moved to Illinois in 2009.

Forest executives have sought help from the Suffolk IDA to defray some of the $40-million cost of improvements to the 387,415-square-foot Commack Road building and the consolidation of far-flung sites. Forest plans to keep open smaller offices at 48-49 Mall Dr. in Commack and 45 Adams Ave. in Hauppauge.

Suffolk IDA members gave final approval Thursday for tax breaks totaling $2.16 million over the 10 years for Forest. Chairman Jim Morgo said the drugmaker likely would have left Long Island altogether for New Jersey, Ohio or Missouri if not for the property tax breaks.

"The biotechnology industry is one we've been talking about attracting and keeping on Long Island," he said. "Forest Labs is an important player. . . . They were seriously thinking about leaving."

A Forest spokeswoman didn't immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

In return for county assistance, the company has pledged to create 10 jobs over the next three years and to preserve 679. Its area payroll now totals $57 million per year.

The Suffolk IDA also approved tax breaks for two manufacturers from Queens that must move because the nearby Kosciuszko Bridge to Brooklyn is slated for replacement.

Karp Associates Inc., a maker of doors, and its sister company, Flush Metal Partitions, have had their property purchased by the state Transportation Department for the bridge project. The businesses, owned by Adam Gold, plan to consolidate operations at 260 Spagnoli Rd. in Melville.

Karp has estimated the cost of purchasing the building, renovations and new equipment at $17.5 million. The Suffolk IDA has agreed to waive sales tax on $7 million in equipment purchases and to provide a 10-year tax break on the building's increased property value.

IDA executive director Bruce Ferguson said the biggest gain for Karp would be the sales tax exemption on new equipment. Karp must pay property taxes on the building's current value, only receiving a break on any increase in value.

Still, the county assistance means 108 jobs will come to Suffolk instead of possibly going to North Carolina, where Flush Metal employs six people. Flush Metal specializes in partitions for public rest rooms.