The Nassau County Industrial Development Agency will hold a public hearing on Sept. 5 to consider granting tax breaks to the developer of a mixed-use building in the Village of Great Neck Plaza.
Hooshang Nematzadeh, the developer of the project and president of the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce, on May 1 applied for property tax breaks to build a 35-foot tall, 4,800-square-foot building at 5-9 Grace Avenue with two storefronts or corporate offices on the ground level and 30 apartments on the second, third and fourth floors.
If the application is approved, Nematzadeh, who is also a Village of Kings Point trustee, “would receive financial assistance from the agency in the form of potential exemptions or partial exemptions from real property taxes, mortgage recording taxes and sales and use taxes,” according to the IDA website.
The hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. and will take place in the Village of Great Neck Plaza’s Village Hall, located at 2 Gussack Plaza, according to a public notice by the IDA.
Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender said on Wednesday she will be present at the hearing, along with Nassau County IDA Executive Director Joseph Kearney.
Jonathan Powell, Great Neck public school assistant superintendent for business, said he intends on attending the meeting as well. Great Neck school officials have expressed concerns about the loss of revenue resulting from IDA tax breaks in the past.
The building at 5-9 Grace Avenue was introduced to the village in the summer of 2012 and was approved by the Village of Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees in December and by the board of zoning appeals in January.
It is the first building to be approved under the village’s Business “B” District zoning law, which allows for residential units to be built on top of storefronts or offices.
Nematzadeh said in a May interview that the tax breaks were necessary to make sure the building would be profitable.
“No project is feasible without IDA benefits,” Nematzadeh said. “More than a third of the rentals will go to taxes. Therefore, projects don’t become viable and this is why we don’t have that much construction in Nassau County.”
Celender said at a May meeting of the board of trustees that while she supports the development, the tax breaks would take money away from the village.
“I don’t think any of us are looking forward to a tax break,” Celender said. “We need to secure a way to provide services.”
Nematzadeh said he is working out a payment in lieu of taxes – known as a PILOT- agreement with the village that would pay the amount of village taxes owed to Great Neck Plaza.
“We understand village needs every dime of this to provide the services,” he said.
Nematzadeh, in his IDA application, says the project will help revitalize Great Neck’s downtown area.
“Current trends in state and county is to build in downtowns near mass transpiration, in an effort to bring life and population to downtowns,” Nematzadeh said. “This in turn enhances local stores sales and bring vitality into downtowns.”
Nematzadeh expects 60 full-time construction jobs to be created during the time the development is being built, according to his IDA application.
Two full-time jobs will be created in the building after its completion, according to the IDA application.
Residents are expected to begin moving into the apartments one month later on Sept. 1, 2016, according to the IDA application.
