42 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • APRIL 2018
LOW COMMERCIAL VACANCIES PERSIST ON LI
NYS TARGETED LOAN FUN D
FOR LONG ISLAND BUSINESSE S
• Loans up to $500,000 for small businesses located in Nassau & Suffolk Counties. Fixed rate
currently
at 4%, self-amortizing up to 20 years.
• Manufactures, agricultural, wineries, breweries, commercial fishing related, wholesale or business
to
business service providers in computer software, computer hardware, bio tech, bio medical,
pharmaceutical, electronics, advanced optics, transportation, environmental or energy related
technology, project resulting in industrial modernization or innovation in life sciences.
• Non retail: NYS Certified minority-owned & NYS Certified woman-owned business.
• Can be used for working capital, equipment & other business needs.
Contact: Long Island Development Corporation
(516) 433-5000 or email: biz-loans@lidc.org
For more info see www.lidc.org
under Targeted Loans
LIDC is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Economic Development Corporation
PRESS HOME
By JEFF BERMAN
Commercial real estate vacancy
rates on Long Island ended 2017
below the historical average for the
region and little has changed so far
this year, according to local realtors
and data providers.
Nassau/Suffolk industrial vacancies
are still at 3.1 percent, office
vacancies remain at 7.1 percent and
retail vacancies have dropped from
4.4 percent to 4.3 percent, according
to CoStar, a commercial real estate
information provider. The most
noticeable shift is in the retail sector,
where brick-and-mortar stores
are adapting to the rise in online
shopping.
“Retailers are closing their stores
and doing much more business
online,” says Ron Koenigsberg, a
broker and president of Garden
City-based commercial real estate
company American Investment
Properties. “They are increasingly
purchasing and renting warehouse
space to use as distribution centers.”
Office space vacancy is “down
significantly from the 19 percent
it once was not that long ago,” says
Mario Asaro, a broker and president
of Melville-based commercial real
estate company Investment One.
On the other hand, retail vacancy
rates “seem to be climbing due to
e-commerce,” he says.
“The malls will have to become
entertainment and recreationalminded
to attract shoppers,” Asaro
predicts.
Jeffrey Pliskin, CEO at Garden
City-based Pliskin Realty And
Development, notes that while
he’s been busier, clients have been
signing leases for smaller spaces.
“They realize they don’t need as
much,” Pliskin says.
As for the industrial and office
markets, Koenigsberg says he’s
“expecting to see an increase in
rental rates and a decrease in
vacancy rates for both sectors.”
Total commercial sales inventory
seems to have increased within the
past year, he adds.
“Many of our clients were waiting to
see how the political environment
and tax reform would affect their
investment properties,” he says.
“Now that some of those questions
have been answered, clients are
making better informed decisions
on whether they will like to sell
their properties.”
The “changing landscape” he’s
seeing is “primarily because of the
transition in the retail market,” he
says. One strong positive is that
there are “many new businesses
buying properties” on LI, he says.
Although Toys “R” Us is closing
all its stores and Sears continues
to close stores, other large players
are expanding, he notes, pointing
to Amazon-owned Whole Foods
announcing that it’s moving
forward with plans to open two
more stores, in Garden City and
Commack.
link
/www.lidc.org
