Nassau OKs tax breaks for lighting R&D base

A manufacturer of energy-efficient lighting will more than quadruple its local workforce by opening a research and development facility in Port Washington in exchange for tax breaks from Nassau County, officials said last night.

Wangs Alliance Corp., known as WAC Lighting Co., plans to move its headquarters from Garden City to a 145,000-square-foot building on Harbor Park Drive owned by eyeglass manufacturer and retailer Luxottica Group. WAC's new research unit will be housed in the facility instead of in China, where it makes all of its lighting.

WAC is buying the Port Washington building for $12.3 million from Milan-based Luxottica, which will move its U.S. office into rented space nearby.

Founded 27 years ago by Taiwanese immigrants in Queens, WAC employs 65 people in Nassau but expects to hire 228 over the next 13 years because of increased demand for energy-saving lights. About 50 of the new hires will be engineers working on new products.

"We expect to double our sales in the next five years and then over the following six to eight years to double sales again," said Jim McMahan, vice president and general manager.

To support the $13-million expansion, the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency last night approved a $100,000 break on the mortgage recording tax and $35,000 off the sales tax on equipment purchases. WAC also will receive a payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, agreement that freezes property taxes for eight years and then gradually increases them over the following seven years.

Joseph J. Kearney, the IDA's executive director, said, "When these folks came to us their bags were packed and they had one foot out the door. To keep WAC in Nassau County and to get an R&D center is significant."

WAC officials said they considered moving to Suffolk County and New Jersey.

Luxottica, which produces fashion eyeglasses and operates the LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut and Pearle Vision stores, nearly left for Ohio.

Vito Giannola, vice president and treasurer for U.S. operations, said Luxottica needed far less space after moving its local warehouse operations to Atlanta and Ontario, Calif., last year.

Tax breaks from Nassau helped Giannola persuade his bosses in Italy to spend $11.9 million to rent and furnish a 30,065-square-foot office at 12 Harbor Park Dr. They also promised to add 10 jobs over time to the payroll of 167 workers.

Luxottica will receive a $345,000 break on sales tax and a 15-year PILOT that freezes property taxes for the first five years and then gradually increases them over the next 10 years.

Luxottica is a marquee business, selling Ray-Ban and Oakley glasses, and losing it would have been a blow, said IDA chairman Jeffrey Seltzer. "The cut in business confidence in the county . . . would have been bad. I'm so glad we saved this one."