$84M development for global delivery giant advances in Inwood 

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A build-to-suit warehouse and distribution complex in Inwood has reached a milestone in its construction with the topping-off of its steel structure. 

The $84 million project from Oak Brook, Ill.-based CenterPoint Properties is transforming an 8.7-acre site at 65 Rason Road into a two-story, 129,485-square-foot facility for a global delivery giant. Though CenterPoint declined to identify the tenant, real estate industry sources say the development will be occupied by FedEx. 

The project site, which was vacant land that had once housed a sewage treatment plant, is located just two miles from JFK International Airport. The new development will feature 118,392 square feet of rooftop parking that can accommodate 310 vehicles, 32-foot clear ceiling height in the warehouse, 32 dock doors and two drive-in bays. The building will also offer 8,774 square feet of office space. 

Originally imagined as a speculative development, CenterPoint pivoted the project as a build-to-suit once it signed the tenant. The project received economic incentives, including a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement, from the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency in April 2023. 

“The site had been sitting vacant for a number of years, and we worked with the Town of Hempstead to entitle a Class-A industrial facility designed to meet the standards of today’s most demanding logistics users,” said Ronel Borner, CenterPoint’s East Region senior vice president of development. 

The new facility is designed by KSS Architects, with offices in Manhattan, Princeton, N.J. and Philadelphia, which has previously worked on the Air Cargo Facility at JFK and the newly built Belmont Park Village retail complex in Elmont. The Inwood project’s construction is headed by Ronkonkoma-based Aurora Contractors, which served as general contractor for Belmont Park Village, the ongoing renovations and expansion of Jake’s 58 Hotel Casino, and many major Long Island industrial projects such as the two-building, 850,000-square-foot LIE Commerce Center in Melville developed by Hartz Mountain Industries. 

“Reaching the steel topping-off milestone for this project marks a significant achievement for both our team and the entire project. This event symbolizes not just progress but the culmination of hard work, collaboration, and commitment from everyone involved,” said Michael Adler, Aurora’s director of business development. “As a longstanding member of the Long Island construction community, Aurora Contractors is proud to support the development of industrial facilities like CenterPoint’s project in Inwood. With extensive experience building various types of industrial facilities, including multi-level warehouses, we understand the unique demands of this sector and are dedicated to delivering high-quality projects which exceed our clients’ expectations.” 

Founded in 1993, CenterPoint, which has regional offices in five states, has a national portfolio of 308 properties totaling about 62.9 million square feet. The Inwood project is the company’s first on Long Island but may not be its last. 

“The New York City industrial market, and particularly the JFK submarket, remains strong with tenants continuing to seek out Class-A industrial space. While the site is technically in Nassau County, its location less than two miles from JFK airport really makes it an extension of the New York City market,” Borner said. “CenterPoint is always looking for new opportunities in strategic, supply-constrained markets, and this site met all of the criteria.” 

The Inwood development is expected to be completed in Q1 2026.