$10M plan seeks tax breaks to redevelop vacant Long Beach medical center

A long-vacant medical center in Long Beach would become home to an insurance company under a $10 million plan from real estate developer Starock Group.

The top two floors of the Sunrise Sports Medicine Center at 367 W. Park Ave. would be rented by the insurer, whose identity hasn't been disclosed. The ground floor of the three-story building would be used by a retailer, according to the developer's application for tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.  

Starock is requesting a sales-tax exemption of up to $258,750 on the purchase of construction materials, supplies and furnishings, plus up to $52,500 off the mortgage-recording tax. The Hartford, Connecticut-based developer also wants property-tax savings over 15 years, though it would continue to pay the current taxes of $131,451 per year over the period, the application states.

The IDA board voted unanimously at its Dec. 18 meeting to begin negotiations with Starock for an incentive package. 

If the project moves forward, the insurance company would transfer 50 employees to Long Beach from its current office elsewhere in the county. The insurer has considered leaving the state for Florida, according to Daniel P. Deegan, the developer's real estate attorney.

Deegan said at the IDA meeting that Starock has a letter of interest from the insurer about renting 22,000 square feet, or two-thirds, of the West Park Avenue building. However, Starock must first buy the property, win tax breaks and make improvements before a lease can be negotiated. For that reason, the insurer isn't being named at this time, he said.

"They are threatening to leave the state and possibly go to Florida, to Jacksonville,” Deegan added.

IDA officials said they didn't know the identity of the insurer.

The West Park Avenue building was constructed in the mid-1990s for Sunrise Sports, which offered physical therapy, hydrotherapy and orthopedic care for people injured at work or playing sports. The medical center replaced a grocery store with a second-floor office, according to the Newsday archives.

The center closed about 20 years ago, and ensuing proposals for a 64-unit apartment complex and 67 one-bedroom apartments for seniors were scuttled after neighbors and city officials objected, the archives show.

Avraham Walkin, an executive with Starock, said he’s optimistic the office proposal will win approval, citing a parking variance granted by Long Beach without objection. City officials “have been very accommodating,” he said during the IDA meeting.

Long Beach City Manager Daniel Creighton told Newsday the city administration “is pleased to see the property brought back to productive use.” He said the city wants to be included in negotiations between Starock and the IDA if there is “any need” for property tax breaks to support the project. 

The IDA is interested in the project because it involves "taking a blighted, vacant building and bringing it back to life,” William Rockensies, the agency's chairman, said in an interview. “There’s also the real possibility that the prospective tenant will stay in Nassau County instead of going to Florida.”