Suffolk officials give go ahead to Ronkonkoma development plan
The Suffolk County legislature approved an agreement to redevelop 86 acres of municipally-owned property near Ronkonkoma’s LIRR station, Long Island Business News reported. Jones Lang LaSalle, which heads the development team, hopes to bring entertainment, hospitality and medical facilities into an area dominated by commuter parking right now. Ronkonkoma Vision Project, Cameron Engineering, Crawford Architects and Spectra are all part of the development team, whose initial pitch came in at a cost of $1 billion. They have eight months to come up with a plan and fulfill all the necessary due diligence. The project is part of the broader effort to redevelop the area that includes a Tritec Real Estate mixed-use project, which includes 1,450 residential units, 195,000 square feet of retail and another 360,000 square feet of offices. [LIBN]
Manhattan law firm to go to bat for $1B Belmont Park arena project
The Empire State Development Corporation has hired Manhattan law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth as a general counsel for its planned $1 billion entertainment complex at Belmont Park. Firm lawyers Mark Arnold and Carl Schwartz will head the project. Both have experience guiding major stadium deals in New York, Atlanta and Las Vegas, Long Island Business News reported. The proposal for Belmont includes an 18,000-seat arena for the New York Islanders, a 250-room hotel and 435,000-square feet for food and retail. The developer, New York Arena Partners, is made up of the Sterling Project Development Group, Scott Malkin Group and the Oak View Group. It’s currently undergoing an environmental review. [LIBN]
Judge OKs $14M sale of Shirley’s Dowling College campus
A United States Bankruptcy Court judge approved the $14 million sale of the onetime Dowling College campus to a Canadian development firm. The 105-acre site will go to Triple Five Aviation Industries, a subsidiary of Alberta-based Triple Five Worldwide Group, Long Island Business News reported. The college had once used the space for its aviation program. It includes a 70,645-square-foot dorm with 70 rooms, an athletic complex, 65,000 square feet of classrooms and offices and an airplane hangar. [LIBN]
Jericho office complex sells for $15.7M
Roslyn-based Rallye Auto Group is slated to buy a two-building office complex in Jericho for nearly $16 million. The five-story buildings have 103,580 square feet sitting on four acres and are about 75 percent occupied, Long Island Business News reported. Rallye already owns a BMW dealership across the street from the property the prior owners, DEA Jericho LLC, defaulted on its $15.6 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan in 2017. [LIBN]
Smoothie King to expand in Long Island with Massapequa Park location
The Dallas-based chain Smoothie King company hopes to open a second Long Island location in Massapequa Park. Franchisee AB Smoothies LLC already signed a lease and hopes to open a 1,000-square-feet shop come August, Newsday reported. Chris Ferencsik of Schacker Realty represented Smoothie King and the sublessor J.W. Mays Inc. AB Smoothies bought a previously existing Smoothie King location in North Hempstead in February. The owners of AB Smoothies, who also run four Smoothie Kings in Florida, hope to build another five locations across Long Island over the next five years. [Newsday]