[caption id="" align="alignright" width="295"] Crews work on the foundation of the massive solar panel manufacturing facility at RiverBend, projected to bring 2,900 jobs to WNY.[/caption]

The Buffalo Billion initiative has a great ring to it. A billion dollars from New York State dedicated to reviving the Buffalo Niagara economy. It doesn’t get much better than that, right?

The plan – unveiled in late 2012 – was like a bolt of lightning energizing local economic development efforts. The state enlisted local leaders to identify the region’s strengths, and a plan emerged to fund a range of fields, from advanced manufacturing to health and life sciences to tourism. Some companies agreed to move some operations here, and plans were laid to increase training programs.

It was exciting, and local business leaders trumpeted the opportunity. Get onboard now, they intoned, because it may be our last, best chance to revive the economy.

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January 25, 2015 - 12:01 AM