Beechwood bets on a shopping center in Jericho

After building more than 5,000 homes in the New York area, the Beechwood Organization has gone industrial, buying a 175,000-square-foot building on an 11.76-acre industrial property in Jericho.

The Robbins Lane property is located down the street from where Taubman Centers is proposing a 760,000-square-foot

The investment would be successful even if they never break ground, said Michael Dubb, who owns Jericho-based Beechwood. If they did, however, you wouldn't hear Dubb complaining.

"Those stores will need places to put their stuff," Dubb said.

Marty Lomazow and Phil Heilpern of CB Richard Ellis in Woodbury represented the seller, furniture company Maurice Villency, in the sale. The sale price was not disclosed, but tax records indicate that the property was valued at around $10 million.

Lomazow, like Dubb, realizes that the value of the property would skyrocket if the Taubman mall gets built.

"It's fair to assume that there's underlying value for what's likely to occur with the mall site," Lomazow said.

Whether or not the long-stalled mall project goes forward, Dubb said he likes the upside of the mostly residential area. Sources say Dubb has already signed Quick International, a Queens-based delivery company, to take space in the building.

Beechwood is the latest Long Island developer to diversify its portfolio. Shopping center developer Polimeni International is building condominiums in Mineola. And Tritec has gone from focusing almost exclusively on industrial properties to working on mixed-use developments.

Vision Long Island Executive Director Eric Alexander said the walls of specialization are coming down because companies are looking for the best opportunities to get projects built.

"What we're seeing in projects around the country is diversification," Alexander said.

Dubb knows a good deal when he sees one. A horseracing enthusiast who owns 60 to 70 thoroughbreds, Dubb partnered with Sanford Goldfarb and former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre on a filly named Sis City, which they bought for $50,000. The group recently sold the horse for $2 million.

Also, one of Dubb's colts, Salute the Count, finished second in the Aegean Turf Sprint, a race held at Churchill Downs the day before the Kentucky Derby.

The next day, Dubb stood next to Oyster Bay trainer Rick Dutrow at the Louisville track, where a Dutrow-trained colt named Big Brown won the Derby.

Meanwhile, Dubb is putting the finishing touches on new models at Meadowbrook Pointe, a community of 700 homes on what used to be Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, including one-bedroom condo units, being introduced for the first time.

Credit: David Winzelberg