Joe Lagana, a longtime Rockland County business owner, has invested millions on residential and commercial building and renovation in the county over the last year.
The CEO of United States Information Systems (USIS) moved the company last year from Nyack to a new 31,000-square-foot headquarters in Pearl River.
Adjacent to the new USIS space, Lagana has opened with his four sons ”“ Joseph, Robert, John and Michael ”“ a new health and fitness club called Vision Health and Fitness. The new multimillion-dollar 32,000-square-foot facility is under the management and direction of son Robert whose vision and plan it was to open it, said Joe Lagana. The club began operating last month and currently has 1,500 members.
Not content to stop there, Lagana is in the process of renovating the building in Nyack that previously held USIS”™s offices.
Known as “The Mill,” the 125-year-old building at North Mill Street is being renovated with new windows and doors, upgraded technology wiring and fireproofing, interior painting, and new carpeting.
Current tenants of the office building include a mix of creative companies, architects, legal and financial consultants and high tech businesses.
Lagana also has his hand in residential development, as he is building The Adare, a 16-unit building at 212-216 Main Street in Nyack. The building is scheduled to be completed by July or August, Lagana said.
“We believe in Rockland,” he said. “We felt our company headquarters are great here in Rockland. We like Rockland and we”™re comfortable with it.”
Lagana has lived in the county since the early 1960s.
He invested more than $5 million into the new headquarters for USIS in Pearl River. Lagana also recently purchased a 27,000-square-foot vacant building adjacent to the new USIS building and the Vision Health and Fitness building in Pearl River. A portion of the high-ceilinged building has been renovated: 7,000 square feet will be used for USIS expansion and 7,000 square foot for an artificial turf multipurpose area for Vision Health and Fitness, he said.
Lagana spent nearly $2.5 million on The Adare, which is the first new residential construction on Main Street in Nyack in decades, he said. A sales office adjacent to the apartment building has just opened.
Lagana said lease prices at the building will be around $1,900 for 902-square-foot, one-bedroom units and $2,500 per month for the 1,022-square-foot, two-bedroom units.
“We are pleased to add The Adare to the village downtown and look forward to having our residents enjoy all that the village has to offer within a short walk out their front doors,” said Lagana.
Lagana is spending around $500,000 renovating The Mill, which he purchased in 1993, and is hoping to attract more tenants to the building. Currently, there are nine single-room tenants and one that occupies a suite, he said.
Lagana, who was awarded the Rockland Business Association”™s Pinnacle Chairman”™s Award for Overall Business Excellence on April 9, has lived and has run his business in Rockland County for more than 40 years.
USIS installs voice and data wiring and other low-voltage security systems in commercial buildings and also performs maintenance on site.
He said the company does “a large chunk” of its business in New York City, which makes Rockland an ideal location.
He said the 400-employee company also does much business across North America and has plans to expand into the Far East.
But he has no plans on leaving Rockland anytime soon.
“I raised my family here, and all of my children live in the area,” he said. “We like it here.”
