BUFFALO, N.Y. — The mixed-use building by Sinatra Development has run into snags when it comes to financing, and work is once again halted on the site.
New York State Senator Sean Ryan said Empire State Development, the state's banking arm, needs to be more selective in granting developers taxpayer money, especially with this one asking for more money to complete the project, now four years overdue.
"But now we've put the public eggs, our money, into this developers hands, and now they're saying, 'Oh, we cant finish unless you give us more money.' It's generally not how this is supposed to work," Ryan said.
Sinatra Development is being fined $500 a day as long as work at the job site is idled, and the company faces the possibility of the state taking the property back.
2 On your Side learned in mid-August that if Sinatra & Co. do not "substantially complete" the Heritage Point Project within six months of July 19, the state will begin the process to take back the property.