Luminati Vacates Grumman Building

Luminati Aerospace, part of the group that intends to purchase 1643 acres of Enterprise Park in Calverton, is in the news again.

About the last thing the would-be purchasers of Riverhead Town’s EPCAL property, Calverton Aviation and Technology, needs is negative publicity, but its minority partner Luminati can’t seem to help itself.

Luminati Aerospace, owned by Daniel Preston, is said to have a 25-percent stake in CAT. The mall developer Triple Five Group, which is best known for developing large shopping malls like the Mall of America, owns the remainder.

“All of his business deals have ended badly,” said Riverhead Town Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith of Preston. She acknowledged Luminati is still tethered to the Enterprise deal with CAT. “He hasn’t done business with anyone who hasn’t sued him,” the supervisor added.

Last week, Luminati reportedly agreed to leave the former Grumman Plant 6 in response to an eviction action filed by Laoudis of Calverton, the owner of the plant.

The building is not part of the bigger deal, which will transfer the 1643 acres to CAT for $40 million should it go through.

Jens-Smith acknowledged she views the pending deal through a cynic’s lens. “This all started as a bromance between Daniel and Sean Walter,” Jen-Smith said, referring to the former town supervisor, “before I took office.”

She characterized the sale as a “rush” orchestrated by Walter, adding she thought it was “a good deal” for CAT, but not necessarily the town.

Preston’s penchant for getting sued could eventually put the bigger deal in jeopardy, Jens-Smith said. “We’ve contacted our attorneys about it,” she added.

rmurphy@indyeastend.com