County Executive Tom Suozzi announced June 15 that 25 acres of prime county-owned real estate is officially up for sale. The Department of Social Services (DSS), located at 101 County Seat Drive in Garden City, will be moved to 60 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard in Uniondale, where it will be joined by all of the other divisions that make up the county's Health & Human Services (HHS) 'vertical.'

County officials say the move is also a crucial step forward for Suozzi's "No Wrong Door" initiative. CB Richard Ellis, a global leader in commercial and residential real estate transactions, is serving as the county's exclusive broker for the sale of 101 County Seat Drive.

"This is the dawn of a new era for the way we deliver health and human services to residents of Nassau County," Suozzi announced as he and other local public officials helped drive a "For Sale" sign into the ground.

"Not only are we saving millions of dollars in renovation costs to 101 County Seat Drive, but we are starting to create a one-stop location for residents to turn for all of their social service needs. We hope that this is just the beginning and the cornerstone for building a legacy of unparalleled accomplishments throughout the county."

The county legislature unanimously approved the plan to relocate HHS functions to 60 Charles Lindbergh Blvd. earlier this year and is a significant advance, county officials believe, for the county executive's Real Estate Consolidation Plan. The plan's objective is to consolidate county offices into new or renovated facilities and sell surplus county property to fund the repairs.

Many of the county's buildings are in severe disrepair and without the Real Estate Consolidation Plan, would cost over $150 million to rehabilitate. For example, the current Social Services building, which sits on 25 acres of centrally located real estate, would have cost an estimated $46 million just to address life safety issues.

Garden City has rezoned the property for residential use, allowing up to 90 single-family homes or 150 townhouses, or a mix of both on the site. An additional 36 multi-family units can be built in an adjacent property across County Seat Drive. The county has begun marketing this property to prospective developers through Requests for Proposals (RFP) and DSS is expected to move to their new location by the end of this year.

"Nassau County's real estate holdings have grown at a pace that we can no longer afford. This plan puts an end to the illogical and unfeasible growth of County government over the last 30 years. I want to thank the County Legislature for approving the new lease for HHS and the Village of Garden City for rezoning this site for residential use, which is the best use for this property," Suozzi said.

Last Tuesday's announcement adds to a string of government consolidation agreements the Suozzi Administration completed so far this year. In April, the legislature approved the sale of 160 Old Country Road, which used to house the county's offices of Human Rights and Consumer Affairs, to a Mineola developer for $2 million.

Further, the legislature also approved the sale of 9.2 acres of vacant county-owned land in East Massapequa to the Town of Oyster Bay to be used for ball fields. In return, Oyster Bay paid the county $4.7 million and agreed to assume the ownership of nearly 10 separate miles of county roads within the town, which will save the county over $130,000 a year for the next 15 years in maintenance costs.

The agreement is a model of Suozzi's proposal to get the county out of the 'road business' by trading county-owned roads to the three towns (Towns of Hempstead, North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) and two cities (Long Beach and Glen Cove) as a way to save taxpayer dollars and reduce duplication in government. Future projects include a newly constructed police headquarters in Westbury and renovating the executive and legislative office building in Mineola.