Kings Park apartment complex wins early Suffolk IDA OK for $2 million in tax breaks

The Suffolk Industrial Development Agency has given early approval to more than $2 million in tax breaks to the developer of a 46-unit apartment complex proposed for Kings Park.

The Smithtown Town Board voted earlier this month to effectively waive the need for a more rigorous environmental review of Cornerstone Kings Park, a $22.5 million development located within a half mile of the Kings Park train station. The project won zoning board approval in March and the developer is set to secure town building permits "imminently," according to a cost-benefit analysis of the project filed with the IDA.

Terwilliger & Bartone Properties is partnering with Tanzi Properties LLC in developing the three-story building. Developers requested a 15-year PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, for the complex that will be built on a roughly half-acre plot. The 2.26-acre property the IDA is reviewing comprises two parcels — the 0.48-acre parcel where a restaurant will be demolished to make way for the complex; and a 1.78-acre lot that includes a now-shuttered Rite Aid pharmacy and multi-tenant office building, according to IDA documents.

The development will have 137 parking spaces, including 29 in a belowground parking garage, according to IDA documents. The complex includes five workforce housing units. Rents will average $3,444 per apartment, according to the company's analysis.

Anthony Bartone, managing partner for Terwilliger & Bartone, said in the application the project is "a vital step toward addressing the region’s critical housing shortage."

Tony Tanzi, owner of Tanzi Properties, said in an interview after Thursday's IDA meeting that without tax relief, "the project wouldn’t make sense" financially. Tanzi is also a member of Smithtown's zoning board, but he previously recused himself from voting on the project.

The issue of development in Kings Park has prompted heated debate at town board meetings and during the recent GOP primary for Smithtown supervisor. Supporters of new developments say the hamlet needs to add a more diverse mix of housing to attract young people and retain seniors. Opponents say there are too many development proposals in the town's pipeline that will put a strain on community services.

Thursday's hearing at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge included contentious debate.

Suffolk County Legis. Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga), who has opposed the project, urged the IDA to reject any tax abatement. During his unsuccessful run in the GOP primary for supervisor last month, he criticized the project and other proposals in Kings Park as too dense for the community.

"We should not be granting these people a tax benefit that is going to put a stress on education, emergency services and most importantly, quality of life. Never in my life have I seen an apartment building shoehorned into a shopping center," Trotta said. "You are turning this place into Queens."

But Timothy McCarthy, a representative of the IBEW Local 25 electricians union, said the project will draw people to Kings Park. Suffolk IDA approval would help "spur a lot of that economic development in the area," he said.

Eric Alexander, director of the Northport-based nonprofit Vision Long Island, also spoke in favor of the project. He said the complex would not burden the Kings Park school district, as the apartment units are built "for people in different stages of their lives, whether it’s seniors or young people ... people who want to live in their neighborhood when they can’t manage their houses anymore, but also younger people who want to be in downtowns."

Grow America, which conducted the cost-benefit analysis for the IDA, recommended approval. The company said the project is expected to generate $1.86 million in public benefits.

"The project removes a blighted, vacant building and replaces it with much-needed market-rate and workforce housing," the firm said in the cost-benefit analysis.

The IDA will meet on Aug. 28, when it's expected to consider final approval of the tax abatement.