Long Island Cheat Sheet: Hauppauge office complex sells for $16M, Elliman sees strong housing market finish to 2018 … & more

Hauppauge office complex sells for $16M
Valley East Management bought an office complex in Hauppauge made up of two four-story buildings for $16 million, according to Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, which marketed the property. The sellers were KABR and Capstone Realty groups, two real estate investment firms. (Long Island Business News put the sale price at closer to $15 million.) The two buildings, The Towers West at 330 Motor Parkway and The Towers East at 350 Motor Parkway, altogether contain 131,223 square feet. The recently renovated complex, which was built in 1971 and sits on 7.7 total acres, is 94 percent leased to 41 tenants. Amenities in the complex include a cafeteria, fitness center, conference rooms, storage areas and parking. The HFF team that handled the deal included Jose Cruz, Kevin O’Hearn, Andrew Scandalios, Stephen Simonelli and Michael Oliver. [HFF]

Median home price and sales rise on Long Island
The home market had a bit of a “contrarian” final quarter of 2018 on Long Island compared to other markets nearby, said Jonathan Miller, CEO of appraisal firm Miller Samuel. The overall number of sales rose 2.6 percent, to 7,455, while the median sales price rose 3.9 percent, to $431,000, according to data released by Douglas Elliman and obtained by The Real Deal. Deals in the single family market specifically rose 3.8 percent as the median price climbed 4.8 percent, to $449,000. Elliman’s data echoed that recently put out by the Multiple Listing Service of Long Island, which found median home prices landing at $460,000 in December, a 4.5 percent increase over the same month a year prior. Long Island’s strong finish to 2018 was markedly different on its East End, where the Hamptons saw a 35 percent decline in sales. The steep decrease in the affluent locale partly had to do with the federal government’s major tax overhaul, which largely left buyers unscathed on the rest of Long Island. [TRD]

Developer pitches Patchogue on $16M luxury apartment building
Farmingdale-based developer Terwilliger & Bartone wants to build a 50-unit apartment project on two acres along the Patchogue River once used for distribution and storage by Marran Oil, The Long Island Advance reported. The $16 million project, which has been dubbed the Cornerstone Waterfront at Patchogue, would include 55 boat slips, a rooftop clubhouse, a patio and a fitness center. Five of the apartments would be priced as workforce housing, while the rest would have rents starting at $2,500 for 36 one-bedroom units. The building would also have six two-bedrooms and eight studio apartments. At a recent meeting, local residents expressed concerns about the proposed project’s potential to obstruct waterfront views, impact nearby property values and bring about other neighborhood changes. The outlet reported that the development team includes GRHC Architecture’s Glen Cherveny, R&M Engineering’s Matt Aylward and Garrett Gray and Kathleen Deegan Dickson from Long Island law firms the Weber Law Group and Forchelli Deegan Terrana, respectively. [The Long Island Advance]

Governor’s bid to cap property tax hikes gains biz backing
The Long Island Association wants to make permanent a New York State cap on increases in property taxes, Newsday reported. The Melville-based nonprofit chamber of commerce, Long Island’s largest pro-business group, released its position and others last week as part of an effort to influence budget negotiations between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature. The budget is due April 1. State law limits increases in property taxes by school districts and other local governments to 2 percent. But as written now, the law, first enacted in 2011, but be periodically renewed. Cuomo has already backed making the law permanent, but school districts and teachers’ unions are opposed to a property tax cap. According to the governor’s office, the law has helped the typical New York homeowner save $3,200 during the past six years. [Newsday]

Budweiser’s Long Island distributor to close Melville facility
Clare Rose, the exclusive distributor of Anheuser-Busch InBev products for Long Island, plans to shutter its Melville distribution facility in March, according to Newsday. The privately owned company, which recently laid off 14 employees, nearly two years after resolving a strike with delivery drivers and warehouse workers, plans to consolidate its operations at its headquarters in the Rose Executive Park in East Yaphank. Clare Rose opened its Melville facility at 255 Pinelawn Road in 1995. The 125,000-square-foot facility has about a dozen loading docks. Clare Rose plans to lease the Melville building to another tenant. [Newsday]