iStar Likely To Sue Long Beach Over Superblock Development

At a special meeting this week, a lawyer for the City of Long Beach revealed that developer iStar Financial Inc. will file a lawsuit against the city if it does not write a letter to the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency expressing its support of the developers Payment In Lieu Of Taxes plan.

The news was delivered to a large crowd of irate residents who came out to learn more about the developer's tax plan and how it would affect the city. According to the Long Beach Herald, the city learned last month that iStar plans to make a third and final application for tax abatement for construction on the Superblock, despite its previous two attempts being shot down amid intense protests from residents.

The Superblock is an empty lot that sits directly on the beach. iStar, the company that currently owns the parcel, most recently wanted to construct two 15-story towers on the site.

The city held the meeting on Tuesday to discuss the new proposed PILOT with residents. According to the city, if the lot stays vacant, it will generate $5.4 million in taxes over the next 20 years. But the iStar PILOT will generate $15.9 million, as well as $18.4 million in other expenses, for a total of about $34.7 million.

Residents, however, were still unhappy with the plan, the Herald reported. They said that the city's numbers didn't take into account the impact on the school district. Some residents also contended that taking the PILOT agreement would cause the city to lose out on millions it would get in taxes without the agreement. But officials stressed that iStar would not build anything without a PILOT agreement.

For more information from the city on the proposed PILOT and its impact, click here.

Photo: Patch