Upgrades at Pine Town Homes in Long Beach as part of $4M proposed renovation

Residents of Pine Town Homes, a low-income development in Long Beach, would get new kitchens and bathrooms under a proposal from the property’s manager, Metropolitan Realty Group LLC.

The Great Neck-based company, which specializes in affordable housing, plans to spend $4 million to replace the kitchens and bathrooms in all 130 apartments across eight buildings on East Pine Street, between The Rev. J.J. Evans Boulevard and Long Beach Boulevard.

The tenants, who number 265, wouldn’t have to move while the work is done, Mitchell Reiter, Metropolitan’s general counsel, wrote in an application for tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.

Metropolitan is requesting a sales-tax exemption of up to $172,500 on the purchase of construction materials, supplies and furnishings.

The company also wants up to $108,750 off the mortgage-recording tax so that Pine Town’s mortgage of $33.5 million can be replaced with a Fannie Mae mortgage of $48 million. About $7.4 million from the new mortgage would go toward settling a lawsuit not related to Pine Town, the application states.

Reiter said the new kitchens and bathrooms would only be installed if the tax aid is provided. 

"As an affordable housing property with rent and other operational and financial restrictions, the assistance requested from the [IDA] is needed to make this renovation work viable," he said.

In 2011, the IDA granted property-tax savings over 20 years with an option for a 10-year extension tied to Pine Town’s status as a Section 8 community under the U.S. Housing and Urban Development guidelines. At the time, the property was being sold and renovated in a $26.9 million deal, according to the Newsday archives.

State records show that more than $1.1 million in property taxes has been saved so far.

The apartment improvements would start in February or March and last for about 18 months, said Daniel P. Deegan, Metropolitan’s real estate attorney.

"The work will be done in a way that tenants can stay in place, but they get bathroom renovations, kitchen renovations — very significant upgrades to their apartments that really improve the quality of life," he told the IDA board at its Dec. 18 meeting.

The board voted unanimously to begin negotiations with Metropolitan for a tax incentive package. The company also oversees Park Lake Apartments in Hempstead Village and housing complexes in New York City, Arkansas, Ohio and Tennessee.

William Rockensies, the Nassau IDA chairman, told Newsday that Pine Town residents "deserve modern kitchens and bathrooms. This is work that needs to be done."

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.