With 1,300 companies employing over 55,000 people, the Hauppauge Industrial Park (HIP) is the largest park in the northeast and one of the largest in the entire country. Just over 2 square miles, HIP accounts for approximately 1 in 20 jobs on Long Island. This is despite competition from the Heartland Business Center, the Hampton Business and Technology Park, and the Stony Brook Technology Center. It has long been one of the main economic drivers of Suffolk County. Industrial vacancy in Suffolk County is below 3%, in part because of pressure from businesses being priced out of New York City.
Unfortunately, a large portion of this Long Island industrial space is used for warehousing and distribution, which is not as much of a source of high-quality employment and good jobs as most other industrial uses. Still there is some expansion of mid-sized life science and pharmaceutical companies as noted in the Suffolk County Master Plan. Suffolk County and HIP can continue to target New York City businesses not only because of the relatively inexpensive real estate, but also because Suffolk County offers real quality of life benefits, including many walkable downtowns, open space amenities and diverse housing stock.
However, the nature of production is changing, and the HIP needs to evolve with it. New modes of production and business models are focusing on smaller and more collaborative spaces. Workers in production industries require different skills, and increasingly value an attractive working environment and nearby commercial and community amenities. At the request of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Association (IDA) and the Hauppauge Industrial Association of Long Island (HIALI), RPA assessed the HIP’s needs through review of available background materials, a scan of best practices in other industrial parks, and a meeting with HIP tenants and stakeholders. The meeting identified several potential areas of improvement, especially the need to create a compelling identity, a more competitive environment for attracting workers, and a more modern design for the park.
Based on this assessment, RPA is suggesting four strategic approaches to enhance the growing economic vitality of the HIP:
Designing a 21st century production employment center
Making what you do visible
Adopting best practices for ecoindustrial developmentAnticipating the next economy
