IDA approves tax breaks for Grace Ave. complex

Adam Lidgett

The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency on Thursday unanimously approved various tax breaks on an application for a mixed-use complex 5-9 Grace Ave. in the Village of Great Neck Plaza.

The IDA’s approval provides a 15-year tax break on a proposed 42,000 square foot, four-story mixed-use building at 5-9 Grace Ave. that would include two storefronts or corporate offices on the ground level and 30 apartments on the second, third and fourth floors. 

The tax breaks freeze taxes of the property for the first five years at their current level, with a 1.6 percent increase in the next five years, and 2.6 percent in the final five years, said Chris Coschignano, the counsel to developer Hooshang Nematzadeh. Nematzadeh, who is president of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of the Village of Kings Point, filed for financial assistance in May. 

“Without the [tax] relief the project could not get done,” Coschignano said.

The complex, which will cost $12 million to construct, was approved in December 2013 by the Village of Great Neck Plaza’s Board of Trustees and its Board of Zoning Appeals in January.

It is the first building of its kind to fall within the village’s Business B zoning district, which allows residential units to be constructed atop storefronts and offices.

But Plaza officials joined Great Neck residents in September in expressing opposition to Nematzadeh receiving tax breaks on the development, saying that the proposed tax breaks would put a financial burden on taxpayers. 

“I don’t think that’s fair,” Great Neck Plaza Trustee Gerry Schneiderman said at the time. Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said at the time she was worried the tax breaks would take money away from the village. 

Great Neck School District officials have also said they were worried about the effect the tax breaks on the project would have on school revenues. 

Great Neck Public Schools Superintendent Tom Dolan, speaking in response to the announcement about the tax breaks, said he is critical of any property being taken off the tax roll, and that it will lead to an increase in taxes. 

“Such decisions need to be made with greater care,” Dolan said. 

Residents have complained that tax breaks should only be allowed in cases where someone wants to build in under-developed areas, and that Grace Avenue is not an underdeveloped area. 

Efforts to reach Schneiderman and Celendar were unavailing.

Joseph Kearney, the IDA’s executive director, said Nematzadeh will be able to save up to $229,350 in total tax savings under the program  

In lieu of the county’s one-time improvement tax, which is instituted when construction to a property increases its value, the board approved Coschignano’s request that Nematzadeh pay the total over a 14-year period.

Kearney said the proposed complex will be attractive and consistent with the aesthetics of the village.

About 40 jobs are expected to be created for the construction, IDA officials said, including two full-time positions.

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