Friday, February 15, 2008

Standard Motor sells Northern Blvd HQ

The 90-year-old Standard Motor Products corporate headquarters on Northern Blvd. in Long Island City is in contract to be sold for $40.6 million.

The company, which makes replacement parts for the automotive after-market, plans to keep its 300-person headquarters staff at the site, said Lawrence Sills, the company's chief executive officer.


Standard Motor Products sells headquarters on Northern Blvd.

The company manufactured items such as distributor caps at the Long Island City site, Sills said. But modern engine designs have done away with the distributor and the factory workforce dwindled in the past few years from more than 200 to 65.

"We are relocating our remaining Long Island City manufacturing operations to Reynosa, Mexico, and Independence, Kan. As a result, our need for space in Long Island City is substantially reduced," said Sills.

Greiner-Maltz received about 18 qualified bidders. But one of Standard Motors' additional requirements was to find a bidder that would maintain the property as a first-class commercial structure so the company could continue to lease the space for up to 30 years.

Company officials felt it would be better to sell the property to a responsible developer who would turn the building into an "incubator loft" for budding businesses, Maltz said.

An out-of-state pension fund, EX 11 Northern Boulevard Acquisition LLC, is expected to close on the property next month, Maltz said.


Photo from Daily News

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sure, just like the Star Jouranl building was rennovated and three years later torn down.

This is an area zoned (thak you nitwit Jerry and Georgie) into a moster wall of 11 story buildings that look to be slated to be 'dorms' (for 'students?', naw, for 'guest workers')

Commercial tenant leases, including Standard will be bought out.

Nice place to shoehorn a thousand or so, don't you think? Railroad on one side and noisy highway on the other.

Yet another shawdowy corporate shell ...
About to make our community hell.

Anonymous said...

Maybe if they had been offered millions of dollars in tax breaks like those we give developers, the company wouldn't have relocated to Mexico.

Anonymous said...

The Standard Motors building is a monster of a building, manufacturing on the lower base floors, with the offices on the upper floors. Actually, it would make an excellent 1st class building. It is close to Manhattan and the subway is nearby. A good buddy of mine worked here in the last years of his life.

Anonymous said...

LIC used to have a real manufacturing base
that offered real lifetime jobs.

These are not like the temporary jobs
the developers are always touting
that their projects are supposed to create.

Think of the irony that exists in this situation.

First, Standard Motor moves to Mexico.

Then the developer who buys this site
winds up employing Mexican day laborers
for the bulk of his construction crew.

I call that a "double whammy" up the ass
for the community!

Make way for the arriving yupsters.

Anonymous said...

LIC used to have a real manufacturing base
that offered real lifetime jobs.

Think of the irony that exists in this situation.First, Standard Motor moves to Mexico.Then the developer who buys this site
winds up employing Mexican day laborers.

The real irony is Standard Motors was a sweat shop employing illegals on the lines and the last to leave. Think about it - they're taking them all back home!

Anonymous said...

Naughty, naughty Standard Motors!
They couldn't make enough money running a sweat shop on US soil while exploiting illegals?

Now they'll be using legal Mexicanos in Mexico.