Details of $120M Roosevelt Raceway plan unveiled

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 30, 1994

MCS Realty Partners L.P. has announced it would immediately begin construction of a $120 million first phase of a planned 2.5 million square-foot mixed-use development on the site of the Roosevelt Raceway in Nassau County, NY. The principals of MCS are prominent Manhattan-based developer Edward J. Minskoff, shopping center owner/developer Louis Ceruzzi, and New York investor Allen Silverman.

The first stage of Roosevelt Centre, as the development will be known, will include 525,000 square feet of retail space, to be anchored by the first Home Depot Expo store in the Northeast and the area's first Incredible Universe consumer electronics and appliance store. Phase one will also feature a 10-screen Sony Theaters multiplex cinema, along with several other major national retailers. The retail component is scheduled for completion in the summer of 1995.

In addition to building the retail space, MCS said that it has received all necessary permitting to begin $10 million in infrastructure improvements on the site, including a new road, Corporate Drive, which will run parallel to Old Country Road and provide access to the Meadowbrook Parkway.

MCS said it is particularly enthused by the site's proximity to the area's outstanding local highway network, which the developers believe will play a key role in attracting major corporate office users to the large office component that is planned for the second phase of the project.

"Clearly, the successful use of this site has a vital role to play in the economic development of central Nassau County," said Minskoff. "The jobs and economic activity that this development will bring will have an extremely positive effect, and will ensure that the area remains an important regional office and retail center."

The site is the last large parcel of vacant land available for development in central Nassau County.

The 127,000 square-foot Home Depot Expo Design Center planned for Roosevelt Centre will be only the third such store opened by Home Depot in the nation, and the only one located in the Northeast. The Expo Design stores focus on upscale interior design products rather than the building products that are the emphasis of the traditional Home Depot stores.

Acquisition and construction financing for Roosevelt Centre has been provided by Credit Lyonnais, according to Jim Fitzgerald, first vice president in charge of real estate for North America. Todd cooper and Peter Ripka of Ripco Real Estate in Jericho served as broker with the retail tenants.

Ceruzzi is one of Home Depot's largest developers and is currently involved in developing 1 million square feet for the chain. His company, Ceruzzi Properties, owns and develops shopping centers, particularly power retail centers.