ALK, a research-driven pharmaceutical company whose manufacturing facility is in Port Washington, has purchased the building that housed the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation since 1998.
The building at 5 Channel Drive in Port Washington, which is approximately 8,000 square feet, was sold to ALK because the foundation announced last week that it was moving to a larger facility in Westbury.
The purchase is part of ALK’s expansion from its current facility at 35 Channel Drive and the space it leases at 2 Channel Drive, Steve Panetta, a manager at ALK, said.
ALK runs its entire United States manufacturing operation in Port Washington, where it moved in 1962.
The sale price wasn’t made public, but Panetta told the village’s board that ALK is putting $3 million into the Alzheimer’s building.
The Village of Port Washington North last Wednesday approved ALK’s request for a conditional use permit to expand at 2 Channel Drive, where it will add more office and warehouse space and its package facility.
ALK employs about 100 people in Port Washington, Panetta said, and will likely hire about 20 more for the new location.
“The naysayers might say 120 people is too many,” Mayor Bob Weitzner said. “But I like to think of it from a sense of community. It’s 120 people we’ll have in our community; 120 people who will shop and eat at our restaurants and see a movie.”
Panetta said the expansion is necessary not only because the operation is getting bigger, but certain things can’t be moved out of 35 Channel Drive and 2 Channel Drive because of FDA regulations.
Both Weitzner and the board said they were happy to have a “good neighbor like ALK” in the village.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Panetta said.
According to its website, ALK produces allergen extracts that doctors use to diagnose allergies, as well as medications to relieve and prevent allergies.
