This story includes additional information added Saturday about an online database of economic development projects that Empire State Development says will go live by the end of 2020.

ALBANY — Each year, the state puts on a splashy display to reveal which local governments and businesses have won hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, bonds and tax credits through the state's Regional Economic Development Council awards.

What is not made as apparent, however, is that some of the projects never happen.

The Capital Region has seen 25 percent of what are called "priority projects" canceled since the state program started in 2011. It's the highest percentage of cancelations among the nine regions outside of New York City that compete every year for REDC funding, according to an analysis of data done by the Times Union. The review shows 46 out of 186 local projects never got off the ground. Another 17 are currently marked by the state as having "significant delays" or "concerns.'

The Mohawk Valley region has the highest number, 58, of priority projects canceled - which is 23 percent of their awarded lot.

The state has so far spent $6.9 billion on the regional council system, which was created under Gov. Andrew Cuomo to take the politics out of the awarding of grants - commonly derided as political "pork" -- to businesses and communities. Business and government leaders sit on the boards of 10 regional councils, which review grant applications. The state agencies that hand out the money and tax breaks ultimately decide who wins.

Many of the regional council grants are awarded through state programs that already existed, such as when communities get money to study their wastewater treatment plants. But the priority project awards are specifically meant to encourage tourism and job growth.

The regional council projects that were canceled in the Capital Region range from sites with well-known delays and challenges, like Monument Square in Troy and the Nipper Apartment project in Albany, to others that received less attention, such as a proposed rail line at the Port of Coeymans or an arboretum pitched for the Rivers Casino and Resort site in Schenectady.

Empire State Development, which overseas the regional council awards, said in a written statement to the Times Union that it works with awardees to try and ensure the projects move forward. And the state does not give out money or tax incentives if the projects aren't completed.

"These are not state-administered public works projects and ultimately it’s the responsibility of the awardee to undertake and complete them," ESD's statement said. " While we want to see every project succeed, there are numerous reasons – including many over which the state has no control – why a project may not move forward, ranging from issues with other financing and local permitting to industry-wide shifts and changes to company priorities."

Andrew Kennedy, CEO and President of the Center for Economic Growth, referred any comment about the Capital Region's project failure rate to the state. The center, a private nonprofit organization, assists awardees in preparing all the documentation Empire State Development needs for the regional council's progress reports.

"Regardless where we may be in terms of successful completion of projects, you see things that show our region and our economy are doing quite well,” Kennedy said.

Not happening

Monument Square, the former site of Troy City Hall, was given a $1.5 million council award in 2015. But that proposal, to build retail space, apartments and an outdoor plaza, failed. Troy city officials are currently working on a the fourth attempt with a builder to get the one-acre parcel on the Hudson River developed. In Albany's warehouse district, the Nipper Apartment project - a proposal to convert into housing the warehouse with the iconic RCA dog on the top - received $500,000 from the council awards in 2016. The project has been stalled after developer Bill Barber was sued in 2018 for fraud by former business associates.

Fuller Road Management Corp., the nonprofit development arm of SUNY Polytechnic Institute, got a total of $5.1 million for two different projects that did not happen. Fuller Road, as well as SUNY Poly's other development entity Fort Schuyler, were embroiled in a separate scandal that resulted in the 2018 conviction of former SUNY Poly President Alain Kaloyeros on federal bid-rigging charges. The state has created one entity that will replace both those development arms.

Sabre Bioresponse in Slingerlands was granted $3 million worth of tax credits in 2015 to expand its environmental cleanup business. Two months before the state announcement about its award, the company warned that if it didn't get the assistance, it might have to move its operations to Texas.

Sabre did not end up expanding its production, so it did not take the tax credits. The company has offices in Texas and Oklahoma - but it maintains its research facility in Slingerlands.

Kevin Bette, president and CEO of First Columbia and a Sabre investor, said the company could not get the appropriate financing together to do the project. The fact that Sabre had to pay for the expansion first, before receiving tax credits, made executing it more difficult. Bette said the company and the state have agreed the project is no more. It is listed on the Regional Economic Development Council's website as "project concerns need to be resolved."

Bette said he's surprised there aren't more than 25 percent of projects that have been canceled, considering the point of the state awards is to take a chance on development projects that have yet to happen.

He suggested the councils award grant money as the applications come in - and not just once a year - so the state can be more responsive to the needs of businesses.

"It might help make some of these things happen," Bette said. "Businesses operate on a very fast time frame. Government operates on a cycle.

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Transparency wanted

The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit that focuses on state and New York City spending, published a short research paper on the council awards last month that said there is still not enough transparency surrounding the projects. The commission, as well as other advocacy groups, have been asking for years for the state to create a so-called "database of deals." Empire State Development now offers a section on its regional council website that allows visitors to look at a list of all the projects by region and year of award. But it can not be filtered or sorted by status of the project, and there is no information about the number of jobs created.

ESD says last fall it awarded a bid to a company that will create an online database of economic incentives that will feature "a user-friendly portal providing increased access and greater transparency." The state says it will be done by the end of 2020.

More Information Canceled state-awarded projects* 2012 GL & V USA in Hudson Falls, upgraded manufacturing, $350,000 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, research facility in Rensselaer Tech Park, $200,000 2012 Railex, multi-modal center in Rotterdam Industrial Park, $1 million 2013 Fuller Road Management Corp., advanced IT training center at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, $3.5 million 2014 Monument Square site in Troy, $1.5 million 2015 Tower on the Hudson in Albany, $5 million 2015 Fuller Road Management Corp., Rensselaer Clean Energy project, $1.6 million 2015 Coeymans Recycling Center, rail line from Coeymans Industrial Park to Port of Coeymans, $2 million 2016 Nipper Apartments in Albany, $500,000 *The list is a sampling of 46 projects in the Capital Region that did not end up taking state grants or tax credits because the projects did not come to fruition. Source: Empire State Development To look at a complete list of Regional Economic Development Council projects, go to https://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/cfa/projects See More Collapse

“Transparency isn’t just an altruistic idea," said David Friedfel, director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission. "It could help focus future investments.”

Friedfel, however, acknowledged that taking a chance on development comes with risks - and that unrealized projects are likely an unavoidable part of the awards system.

In 2013, the company Railex received a council award of $1 million to help build a new rail center at the Rotterdam Industrial Park. But the project never happened because the outside company that wanted to ship goods to the West Coast backed out, said Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority Chairman Ray Gillen.

But other projects in the City of Schenectady have thrived, said Gillen, including Mohawk Harbor next to Rivers Casino and the new Mill apartment complex in downtown Schenectady.

"We couldn’t have done it without the regional council’s support," Gillen said. "It’s been invaluable to us in leveraging private investment."