The story
Gyrodyne Company of America was founded in 1946 by Peter J. Papadakos, using the assets he bought from the bankrupt Bendix Helicopters Company. The company continued Bendix's development of a one-man synchronized co-axial rotor helicopter in Massapequa, New York, before moving to St. James, New York, in 1951. For the next 24 years the company was engaged in the design, testing, development, and production of coaxial helicopters, primarily the Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH drone for the U.S. Navy. In 1975, Gyrodyne began converting its helicopter manufacturing facilities into rental space suitable for light industry. Since then the company has concentrated its efforts on the management and development of real estate.
On November 2, 2005, Stony Brook University seized 245.5 acres under eminent domain from Gyrodyne, initially paying them $26,315,000 for the property. In 2006, Gyrodyne opened a case for just compensation. Finally, in 2010, the Court of Claims ruled in Gyrodyne's favor when it awarded the company $125,000,000 thereby requiring the state to pay an additional $98,685,000 plus interest of nine percent from the date of taking, to the date of payment.
In 2006, Gyrodyne became a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust. Around this time, Gyrodyne began focusing on purchasing medical properties. Since then, the company has bought three such facilities: two in New York, and one in Northern Virginia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Gyrodyne Company of America, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4