Developer proposes $19.2 million storage facility for small businesses in Hicksville
Developer Vault Equities is proposing to build a self storage warehouse in Hicksville for use by small businesses, contractors and professional services firms. CREDIT: Vault Equities Credit: Courtesy of Vault Equities
A Hicksville lot, vacant for more than 30 years, would become home to a self-storage warehouse for small businesses under a $19.2 million proposal from real estate developer Vault Equities.
The Huntington-based developer plans to construct a three-story, 108,000-square-foot building on land now used to park landscaping vehicles and equipment and heavy trucks. The building would be divided into climate-controlled storage units for rent, according to the developer’s application for tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
Vault is requesting a sales-tax exemption of up to $544,253 on the purchase of construction materials, equipment and furnishings, plus up to $90,000 off the mortgage-recording tax. The developer also wants property tax savings over 15 years, the application states.
In return for the IDA’s help, Vault would create one full-time management job and two part-time administrative jobs on the property. The management position would pay $90,000 per year and the administrative positions $11,100 per year, according to the application.
The IDA board voted unanimously at its Dec. 18 meeting to begin negotiations with Vault for an incentive package.
Without tax breaks, the project will not move forward, said Vault managing partner Nicholas Girardi.
“The construction costs of the project are very expensive and unpredictable … [and] the continually increasing real estate taxes mean the applicant faces great uncertainty with the feasibility of the project,” he wrote in the IDA application.
The proposed warehouse at 350 South Broadway would offer storage units to small businesses in the Hicksville area, including contractors, retail shops and professional services firms, Daniel J. Baker, Vault’s real estate attorney, said during the IDA meeting.
Vault is in contract to purchase the 1.6-acre lot for $2.4 million from the owner, Dr. Marc Mouallem, the application states.
The IDA is interested in the project because of the small businesses that will rent storage units, said William Rockensies, the agency’s chairman. “It’s the jobs that will be created by small businesses because they will have space to store their materials and equipment — and hopefully grow in the future,” he said in an interview.
Rockensies recalled a Nassau IDA project from 2024 where the owners of Seaford Avenue Plumbing applied for tax breaks to construct a 95,000-square-foot warehouse at 16-20 Brooklyn Ave. in Massapequa for use by small businesses.
The $15.5 million project “is still waiting for final approval from [Oyster Bay Town] on the zoning approvals,” Daniel P. Deegan, Seaford Avenue’s real estate attorney, said on Friday. Once the approvals are obtained the developer can seek final approval from the IDA for a tax incentive package, he added.
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.
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