The city of Middletown is considering a tax break for a major development that will bring what may be the state’s largest pickleball facility to town.
Pickleball Park, which is slated to begin construction at 100 Centerpoint Road, could be given a multi-year tax incentive on a sliding scale. The terms of the deal have been drawn up, and will be put before the Common Council on July 10.
The town cites the project’s promotion of health and wellness, and its potential for job creation in considering the tax break.
Developer Lennie Leibenhaut is behind the more-than $11 million plan. The 87,000 square-foot facility is slated to include 17 courts, a restaurant, club house, mezzanine and meeting rooms. Leibenhaut has owned the land since 2006, and has been working on the pickleball plan for the last two years.
Leibenhaut estimates that 950,000 people live within a 25 minute ride of the site.
“The location is just perfect because it has visibility and frontage on I-91,” Leibenhaut said. “It’s easy access. It’s the center of the state.”
Under the agreement that the city is considering, his company, Tall Properties, will pay taxes on the land only while the facility is being built, and for the first two years after it’s completed. The tax assessment will increase gradually in years three to six.
“The city’s been wonderful supporting it,” he said.
Pickleball is often cited as the nation’s fastest growing sport, with an estimated 19.4 million players in 2024.
