The Meadows at Yaphank

The Meadows at Yaphank - Fiscal Benefits

With taxing jurisdictions across Long Island struggling to keep budgets balanced, and with individual taxpayers already overburdened, The Meadows at Yaphank was designed not just by planners and engineers, but with the assistance of an economist. The result is a project that is estimated to generate over $4 million more annually in tax revenues than the existing permitted uses, and more than $11 million more annually than the current taxes collected on the property.

To meet our goal of keeping the project tax positive to all taxing jurisdictions an economist was retained early in the design phase to analyze the fiscal impacts of each development concept being considered. The economist reviewed each component of the mixed use plan and compared the tax revenues generated in each scenario to those that would be realized through development under the existing zoning, and to the current taxes paid on the property. The allocation of tax revenues chart below details the findings.

The Meadows at Yaphank Allocation of Annual Tax Revenues
PROPOSED PDD, AS-OF-RIGHT DEVELOPMENT, CURRENT TAXES
TAX DISTRICT	% OF TOTAL	TAXES FROM PROPOSED PDD	AS-OF-RIGHT TAXES	CURRENT TAXES
School District - Longwood CSD	67.5	$ 8,107,343	$ 5,284,431	$ 580,167
Library District - Longwood CSD	3.4	$ 413,194	$ 269,323	$ 29,568
County of Suffolk	0.9	$ 108,358	$ 70,629	$ 7,754
County of Suffolk - Police	10.5	$ 1,264,995	$ 824, 534	$ 90,524
New York State MTA Tax	0.1	$ 5,941	$ 3,872	$ 425
Town General - Town Wide Fund	1.4	$ 171,027	$ 111,477	$ 12,239
Highway - Town Wide Fund	0.8	$ 99,236	$ 64,683	$ 7,101
Town General - Part Town Fund	0.4	$ 53,278	$ 34,727	$ 3,813
Highway - Part Town Fund	3.6	$ 436,767	$ 284,688	$ 31,255
$100M Bond Act of 2004	0.5	$ 60,293	$ 39,299	$ 4,315
Fire District - Yaphank & Ridge*	7.5	$ 908,904	$ 592,431	$ 65,042
Lighting District	0.4	$ 52,282	$ 34,078	$ 3,741
Real Property Tax Law - Article 7	0.3	$ 34,343	$ 22,385	$ 2,458
Real Property Tax Law	2.3	$ 275,667	$ 179,682	$ 19,727
Blizzard Note Repayment	0.2	$ 19,127	$ 12,467	$ 1,369
TOTAL	100.0	$ 12,010,755	$ 7,828,706	$ 859,498
* The PDD will be served both by the Yaphank & Ridge Fire Departments. Source: Consultant's Estimates based on latest tax bill for subject property

A specific analysis was conducted to determine the fiscal impacts on the Longwood School District. With the inclusion of 303 age-restricted units it is anticipated that 108 school aged children would be generated by the residential component of the project. After considering the cost to educate these students the annual tax impact on the school district was estimated two ways; assuming the current level of State aid, and under a worst case scenario that assumes the complete elimination of State aid. The analysis was conducted in this manner to account for the annual variations in State aid to local school districts. The findings concluded that there would be a surplus in revenue of $6,902,817 to the school district with the current level of state aid, and in the unlikely event that all State aid was eliminated a surplus in revenue of $5,872,175 would still be realized. These findings are detailed in the chart below.

The Meadows at Yaphank Annual Tax Impact on Longwood CSD
Number of Additional Students	108
Average Expenditure per Pupil	$ 20,696
Additional Expenditures Incurred by Longwood CSD	$ 2,235,168
Projected Tax Revenue Allocated to Longwood CSD	$ 8,107,343
Surplus Revenue (Without State Aid)	$ 5,872,175
Estimated State Aid for Additional Students	$ 1,030,642
Surplus Revenue (With State Aid)	$ 6,902,817

While Real Property Tax Revenues are a major factor in assessing the economic impact of a project, there are other items that need to be considered to determine a project’s full impact on the community. As part of the review process for The Meadows at Yaphank we have analyzed other economic impacts such as: job creation, sales tax revenues, mortgage recording tax revenues, and purchasing power. These factors take on an increased importance, especially in these difficult and uncertain economic times.

It is anticipated that upon full development and occupancy of The Meadows at Yaphank, approximately 2,681 full-time jobs will be created. These jobs will generate $190,306,519 in total payrolls. While significant, these direct jobs and payrolls are only a part of the economic picture. A broader impact takes place when the direct jobs generated by The Meadows stimulate a variety of secondary jobs in the community. This process is commonly referred to by economists as, “the multiplier effect.” Employees at The Meadows will spend their earnings in local restaurants and retail shops. These establishments will need to hire employees and purchase supplies from other businesses in the area. As the process continues, or multiplies, the economic impact is felt throughout a larger area. After analyzing the multiplier effect, the findings show that total employment growth created by The Meadows could exceed 5400 jobs, with total payrolls in excess of $200 million. These figures do not include the many temporary jobs that would be generated during the construction and build out of this project.

The residents, employees, and visitors will also bring a considerable amount of purchasing power to the community. It is estimated that direct spending generated by The Meadows may exceed $32 million annually. This amount would be spent and respent in the immediate vicinity of Yaphank, providing a boost to the local economy.

With 327,500 square feet of retail space, The Meadows Towne Center is anticipated to produce annual sales of almost $92 million that would be subject to sales tax. These sales figures would generate $7.8 million in sales tax revenues each year, of which $3.65 million would go to the State of New York, almost $3.88 million would go to Suffolk County, and $342,262 would go to the MTA.

Assuming that homeowners make a down payment of 10% and take a mortgage on the remaining purchase price of the Townhouse and Condominium units, the residential portion of The Meadows is projected to generate an additional $2 million in mortgage recording taxes.