Long Island Real Estate Briefs: March 28, 2008

SYSCO deal will bring 300 jobs to Suffolk County

The nation's largest food-service company is negotiating to build a 375,000-square-foot distribution center and headquarters on 65 acres in Yaphank, according to Anthony Figliola of Brookhaven's Department of Economic Development.

Houston-based

Figliola said SYSCO will incorporate here, becoming SYSCO Food Services of Long Island, and bring 300 new jobs as well.

The distribution giant has also expressed interest in nearby property owned by Ronkonkoma developer Ronald Parr and a former partner, although that plot has been mired in a legal battle over ownership. A judge recently ruled on the matter, however, and the property could hit the market soon if no appeal is filed.

SYSCO, which distributes products to nearly 400,000 restaurants and institutions, sought economic incentives for its move here, and has been working with the Town of Brookhaven's Department of Economic Development for about two years, according to a town official.

SYSCO has local offices in Jersey City, upstate New York and Rocky Hill, Conn., outside Hartford.

AVR, named for owner Alan V. Rose, has invested in metro-area commercial projects for more than 40 years. Its holdings include shopping centers, office buildings, hotels, multi-family properties and industrial parks in New York and New Jersey.

Locally, the company is partnering with Breslin Realty Development Corp. to develop the large Yaphank acreage assembled by Breslin for a planned - but never approved - regional mega-mall. Clare Rose, a Patchogue-based Budweiser distributor, is expected to break ground on a 209,000-square-foot complex on the property within weeks, according to Brookhaven Town spokesman Tom Burke.

The developers also plan an 850,000-square-foot shopping center called Brookhaven Walk.

Real slow for Realogy

The industry-wide slowdown in the sale of existing homes is putting a drag on earnings.

Realogy Corp., the parent company that owns Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA and Sotheby's International, netted a loss of about $840 million in 2007, according to a report from inman.com.

Realogy, which was acquired by Manhattan-based Apollo Management in April 2007, reported a net income of $365 million in 2006. Its annual revenue - $5.97 billion for 2007 - has declined for the last three years.

Home sales fell 19 percent at Realogy's franchise offices in 2007 from the year before.

Lighthouse buys $209M portfolio

West Hempstead-based Lighthouse Real Estate Ventures has purchased a $209 million portfolio from Baker Properties headquartered in Pleasantville, NY.

The 25-asset portfolio contains 1.98 million square feet of mostly industrial and some office space and was bought by Lighthouse as part of a 1031 exchange requirement, according to a statement from CB Richard Ellis, which brokered the deal.

The portfolio, which was approximately 93 percent leased at the time of sale, consists of five properties in a corporate campus in Morris Plains, N.J., 10 properties located in corporate parks in Elmsford and Port Chester, N.Y. and 10 properties in Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut.

Lighthouse's exchange requirement was driven by their $180 million sale of 100 William Street in Manhattan in late December 2007, according to CBRE's Jeffrey Dunne.

Dunne, Steven Bardsley, Jeffrey Oram and David Gavin of CBRE's New York Institutional Group in Manhattan collaborated with William Cuddy and Sean Cahill of CB Richard Ellis' Stamford office, Matthew O'Hare of the New Haven office and Tom Mallaney of the Saddle Brook, N.J., office to negotiate the sale.

Training the trades

The Town of Huntington announced it will fast-track projects for developers that join in building trades apprentice programs.

The new law is designed to help deliver training and education to local building trades workers by providing an incentive to builders of homes or commercial projects. The town contends that public safety will be enhanced if construction workers become fully trained craftspeople.

The new Huntington law gives an "expedited permit review" to builders that implement an approved apprentice program. And considering how long permitting takes, moving towards the top of the pile is sure to save considerable time and money.

Credit: David Winzelberg