Famed Long Island tennis school set for pickleball conversion

The legendary Long Island tennis academy where a young John McEnroe developed his game is making room for pickleball after a sale to a local developer.

Daren Hornig’s Great Neck-based Hornig Capital Partners acquired the Port Washington Tennis Academy for $8.5 million, the developer told The Real Deal.

The tennis center is perhaps known best as the place tennis stars John and Patrick McEnroe, Mary Carillo and Vitas Gerulaitis once trained. But pickleball will be as much of a part of the facility’s future as tennis, Hornig said.

Hornig was told by a friend that the property, owned and operated by the Zauzner family for more than 55 years, was up for sale. The developer, an avid pickleball player whose firm focuses on multifamily, industrial and office projects, saw it as an opportunity to capitalize on the racket sport that’s surging in popularity nationwide.

The developer and its partner Sportime, which will handle the complex’s day-to-day operations, plan to invest more than $7 million into renovating and upgrading the facility. The project will include converting two tennis courts to pickleball, adding six additional pickleball courts, installing an HVAC system and refurbishing the facility’s locker rooms and roof.

When it’s finished, the center will have 15 tennis courts and 10 pickleball courts. The work is expected to be completed by this fall.

Hornig’s deal to acquire the 200,000-square-foot facility at 100 Harbor Road in the Nassau County hamlet, which closed this week, required approval by the attorney general due to the club’s not-for-profit status.

In addition to other tennis facilities in the region, Sportime operates four John McEnroe-branded tennis academies in New York, including one on Randall’s Island. It plans to open its fifth at the Port Washington property, Hornig said.

Hornig’s deal for the Port Washington Tennis Academy won’t be his firm’s last foray into recreational real estate. Hornig and Sportime are looking to develop standalone pickleball facilities throughout the Tri-State area and say they are actively looking to buy or lease locations.

More than 35 million Americans are estimated to have played pickleball at least once last year, and a shortage of playing surfaces has made courts a popular amenity in new multifamily developments.

Hornig Capital’s other recent investments in the New York City area include the five-story former Schlitz Brewery at 95 Evergreen Avenue in Bushwick, and a 172,000-square-foot commercial loft building at 2415 Third Avenue in Mott Haven.