Bakery owner seeks to buy C. Islip site

The owner of a Lindenhurst bakery product distributor has spent more than $20,000 for two engineering studies to help persuade the Town of Islip to approve his controversial relocation bid.

Ted Heim Jr., president of Inter-County Bakers, plans to purchase the nearly 13-acre Central Islip site, a former state warehouse and distribution center that has lain vacant for five years, once the town approves its proposal.

Residents of a nearby condominium development opposed the application at a public hearing in April because the company's round-the-clock operation requires some overnight deliveries and its own 20 trucks usually start deliveries in early morning hours.

Parts of the former state facility on Eastside Drive lie within 100 feet of the Courthouse Commons condo project on the corner of Courthouse and Eastside drives. The development is under construction but already 189 units have sold and more than 350 people live there, said resident Flo Piesco.

The company agreed to conduct two studies -- one on traffic to and from its present site at 1110 Rte. 109 in Lindenhurst, the other on noise there. Both were conducted by independent consultants approved by the town, said Heim and town officials.

The studies, which Heim said cost ICB almost $25,000, were submitted to town planners last week. Planning Commissioner Dave Genaway said experts will review the studies before the planning board makes a recommendation to the town board. The property needs rezoning by the town for it to pass into private hands.

"Bear in mind, the state has the right to continue present use as a government warehouse and distribution center," said Genaway. "At that point, the town would have no jurisdiction to limit traffic or take other noise attenuation measures because local zoning wouldn't apply."

ICB has agreed to limit nighttime deliveries at the 136,000-square-foot warehouse to a northwest loading area, the farthest from nearby residences. The company would plant more trees and shrubs than originally required and install earth berms as visual buffers. The company would also pay a $1.50-per-square-foot fee usually levied only on new construction -- a $200,000-plus windfall for the Central Islip Recreation Fund.

ICB paid the state a 10 percent deposit on the $5.7-million purchase price and planned to settle by May 23 but got a three-month extension after residents raised concerns.

Heim said he still wants the site, which would give ICB more warehouse size, freezer capacity and overall land size, but he remains on the lookout for other potential sites. "You're always looking," he said. "The residents in Central Islip should remember it's been vacant five years and I'm going to spend $5 million making it nice."