Long Island Cheat Sheet: Nassau IDA seeks Amazon HQ2 benefits, Hauppauge building sells for $32M, Q4 office leasing activity dips … & more

Nassau IDA hopes to capitalize on Amazon’s HQ2
Nassau County’s Industrial Development Agency is looking for ways to take advantage of Amazon’s plan to build a $2.5 billion second headquarters in nearby Long Island City, Newsday reported. Nassau officials said they could possibly give tax breaks to proposed apartments in western parts of the county as part of an effort they hope will draw in some of the 25,000 workers that the e-commerce giant hopes to hire in the region. Officials also said they intend to help local businesses become suppliers for Amazon and spur other potential suppliers to move their operations to Nassau. County officials are joining an army of entities seeking to take advantage of Amazon’s move to New York, but others have been vocally opposed to the Seattle-based company’s move into their backyard. [Newsday]

Hauppauge office building sells for $32M
Damianos Realty Group, a Smithtown-based investment firm, bought a six-story office building in Hauppauge for $32 million from Briar Meads Capital. The 210,000-square-foot building at 100 Motor Parkway, designed by Mojo Stumer Associates and The Baldassano Architectural Group, was erected in 2002 by developer Tritec Real Estate. Amenities in the building include several conference facilities, a fitness center, a café, an on-site property manager, security and parking. Damianos will have James Acunto of Innersite Interior Design spiff up the building’s lobbies, hallways and bathrooms as part of a planned $10 million in renovations, according to Newsday. Damianos is also looking to make improvements to the parking lot, landscaping, signs, roof and on-site medical gear. Long Island Business News noted that Briar Meads gained control of the building when it bought a $28.65 million CMBS note on the property that was defaulted on by its previous owner, GE Capital. John Finn, director of leasing and acquisitions at Damianos, was the in-house representative for the buyer on the deal, while seller Briar Meads was advised by managing director Seth Berkowitz. [Damianos Realty Group]

Long Island office leasing market dips in Q4
In the fourth quarter of 2018, 285,000 square feet of office space was leased across Long Island, an 11 percent drop from the previous quarter, according to data released by CBRE Group. The Q4 numbers are also 44 percent below the five-year quarterly average for Long Island. Year-over-year, however, the availability rate dropped 20 basis points to about 12 percent, but rose 60 basis points from the previous quarter. Overall leasing activity throughout 2018 totaled 1.6 million square feet, which is about 10 percent lower than the previous year. CBRE, which also recently issued office leasing market reports for Westchester and Fairfield counties, said the average asking rent on Long Island rose quarter-over-quarter to $27.34 per square foot. It also rose 2 percent, year-over-year. [CBRE]

$1B Belmont arena project opposed in public hearings
Critics made up the majority of the hundreds of people who attended public meetings at the Elmont Memorial Library on Jan. 9 about the proposed $1.18 billion arena development at Belmont Park, Newsday reported. The Empire State Development Corporation organized the hearing over the 43-acre project, which includes a 19,000-seat arena, 250-room hotel and a 435,000-square-foot retail village. Opponents at the hearings complained about potential traffic, congestion, safety concerns and obstacles to emergency responders. Empire State Development, in an initial environmental impact statement, said the development won’t have a “cumulative negative impact on the area” except for transportation. Officials at the meetings said a full-time Long Island Rail Road stop should be built to offset those problems. The project is being pushed by New York Arena Partners, a development group that Long Island Business News noted is made up of the Oak View Group, Sterling Equities and the Scott Malkin Group. The public can submit comments electronically through Monday, Feb. 11. [Newsday]

Sayville Plaza gets boost with Chipotle and health clinic tenants
Chipotle Mexican Grill and GoHealth Urgent Care opened locations at the Sayville Plaza as the shopping center battles a lawsuit and increased vacancy. The 371,619-square-foot plaza on Sunrise Highway had about 110,000-square-feet of vacant space in August, Newsday reported, as stores there closed after their parent companies merged or failed. Sayville Menlo LLC, which owns the plaza with Sayville Plaza Development, sued Sears Holdings Corporation in September 2017, claiming that the now-bankrupt retail giant allowed leases it held to lie mostly vacant and become rundown. Chipotle recently started serving its casual Mexican cuisine out of 2,200 square feet in the northwest corner of the complex, according to Patch and Garden City-based Breslin Realty Development Corporation. GoHealth, which has 23 locations across Long Island, will operate out of the same area. Robert Delavale, vice president and director of leasing at Breslin Realty, negotiated for the landlord in the transactions with both new tenants. Sayville Plaza still has 38,000 square feet of available space. [Breslin Realty]