By GREGORY ZELLER //
A rapid reconstruction project fueled by a lucrative tax break will put Eisenhower Park in quick contention for a PGA Tour event.
That’s the plan, at least, with the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency announcing preliminary approval of an incentives package for EGB Hospitality, a Manhasset-based LLC currently renovating the former Carltun restaurant, which operated for 27 years inside the East Meadow park before closing in 2022.
While official terms of the preliminary deal were not disclosed, EGB Hospitality – which last year signed a 15-year lease with Nassau County to operate the 35,000-square-foot facility – requested a $345,000 sales-tax exemption from the Nassau IDA last month.
Slated to wrap up in May, EGB Hospitality’s $5.3 million renovation project is expected to create 20 construction-phase jobs and up to 35 full-time-equivalent jobs within two years of completion.
Richard Kessel: Greens-light.
With The Carltun reworked into the Grand Lannin banquet hall, new concession facilities and the introduction of an innovative cigar club, the construction effort also tees up Eisenhower Park – which last hosted a PGA Tour event on its fabled Red Course in 2008 – for some return PGA engagements.
The preliminarily approved incentives package must still undergo a full review and final IDA vote, but that’s a mere formality, according to Nassau IDA Chairman Richard Kessel, who noted “the benefits of this project are difficult to overstate.”
“Not only will it bring dozens of well-paying jobs to our residents, but it will also see a tremendous uptake in tourism and income to Nassau County,” Kessel said Tuesday. “The NCIDA looks forward to this project’s next steps and bringing yearly professional golf events back to Long Island.”
EGB Hospitality partner Elias Trahanas said Eisenhower Park’s central-Nassau location makes it “the perfect place for people inside and outside the community to come together, whether they attend a PGA event or want to enjoy a day golfing and dining with friends.”
“As a Long Island-based company, our first and foremost priority is bringing top-quality experiences to our community,” Trahanas added. “We could not have done this without assistance from the NCIDA, and we are grateful for the help they provided in making this project a reality.”
Idling park: Eisenhower Park hasn’t hosted a PGA Tour event since 2008.
With already-under-construction outdoor patios and course concessions slated to be named for famed golf course architect Devereaux Emmet, who designed the Red Course, Eisenhower Park’s new-and-improved golf facilities check off significant historical and economic boxes, according to Nassau IDA Chief Executive Officer Sheldon Shrenkel.
“The PGA is the most prestigious golfing organization in the world, and the potential to bring them to Eisenhower Park is a massive win for the people of Nassau County,” Shrenkel said in a statement. “Not only will large amounts of revenue come into the county, but resident golf enthusiasts will be able to attend some of the biggest golf events the PGA has to offer right in their own backyard.
“There is not a much better way to start off 2023 at the NCIDA.”
