Business development does not move quickly or easily in New York. Projects are proposed and either die on the vine or are abandoned before they come to fruition. Blame the sluggish economy or the state’s many hoops companies must jump through to get approval.
So, it’s understandable Bethlehem town officials were overjoyed with Monolith Solar’s announcement it was moving its headquarters from Rensselaer to the Vista Technology Campus. After all, a tech-based industry in Vista has been a long time coming, and Monolith’s clean energy focus fits well with the values of the town. Plus, Monolith’s success story — growing from garage-based startup to industry giant in a few short years — will hopefully bring a momentum that spurs further growth at the tech park.
Vista had been in the works for several years before it finally opened in 2012, but, until Monolith’s announcement, one thing it didn’t have was a tenant that put the “tech” in tech park. A handful of retail businesses and medical offices were making themselves at home, but for the most part, there was a sense of incompleteness for a project that was first touted as a magnet for technology-based businesses, an industry that had been growing by leaps and bounds in the previous decade.
However, when the economy stalled, so did Vista. Fewer high-tech companies were setting up shop in the Capital District, and those that did chose sites such as the University at Albany’s nanotech campus and Luther Forest in Malta.
After a failed bid to bring Breonics — a biomedical firm — to Vista, people began openly questioning the tech park’s purpose. Some wondered if enough was being done to attract high-tech companies and said the tax breaks given to retailers setting up shop in the park were unfairly disproportionate to what others were getting. To many, it felt like Vista would become nothing more than a fancy strip mall.
Then, along came Monolith Solar — a company that, since its founding in 2009, has grown to be the third largest solar panel installer in New York. It needed space to expand its operations, and Vista Tech Campus … well, it had plenty of that. It took an incentive-laden package from Columbia Development Corporation to build a 16,000-square-foot office building, a 10,000-square-foot research facility, and a 3-acre solar array that will power the park. The company already received state incentives and will also be applying for tax breaks from the town’s IDA, a similar package to what was approved by the IDA under the Breonics proposal.
Hopefully, landing Monolith will justify those incentives and create a renewed buzz about Vista Technology Campus. At least it gives us a glimpse of what was intended for this little spot in the woods when a tech park in Bethlehem was first proposed.