SCHENECTADY — There was mixed news for the Metroplex Development Authority’s loan portfolio this week.

On Wednesday, Metroplex took a hit when it failed to recover through a foreclosure auction the full cost of a $275,000 loan to the former owner of the Van Dyck Restaurant and Brewery. The auction fetched $252,000, most of which will go to Berkshire Bank, which had first position on repayment.

On the same day, however, Metroplex announced that Cyclics, a high-tech company headquartered in Schenectady, had earlier in the week made a final payment on its $1.25 million loan.

During the summer, Metroplex officials expressed concern after Cyclics failed to repay its $857,832 loan balance by December 2007. The Metroplex Audit Committee gave Cyclics an extension to repay the balance in three $200,000 installments, plus principal and interest payments of about $14,000 per month.

Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen said Metroplex collected interest payments totaling more than $553,786 on the Cyclics loan.

The Van Dyck loan is the only loan to go bad among 34 others Metroplex has made since its inception nine years ago, said Schenectady County Legislator Vincent DiCerbo, chairman of the Legislature’s Economc Development Committee. “Many banks would kill for Metroplex’s portfolio. And I think over time, Metroplex will recoup the loan.”

Metroplex plans to go after former Van Dyck owner N. Peter Olsen’s personal assets, which include properties in several counties, Gillen said.

Since 1999, Metroplex has loaned out $21 million and has collected $5 million in principal and interest payments. There are no delinquent loans in its current $17 million portfolio, Gillen said.

“Our other loans are very strong,” he said. “We try to write agreements so they are secured by assets and other personal guarantees.”

Because of these and other factors, Metroplex has an A bond rating with Moody’s Investors Service. The rating is Moody’s third best and means Metroplex has adequate security to cover principal and interest, but there is some risk over time. Gillen said Metroplex uses loan repayments, plus sales tax income, to fund other projects, sometimes through loans and sometimes through grants.

The Van Dyck loan, signed in 2004, was controversial with the Metroplex board, which approved it 8-3. Dissenters were concerned Olsen would use the loan to stabilize some of his debts, setting a bad example for public money. Metroplex receives a portion of the county sales tax for use in its economic development mission.

“It was the toughest loan we gave,” Gillen. “But we went forward to preserve the venue, the name and the building and we also thought we were in a strong position regarding collateral.”

Metroplex had second position on Olsen’s real estate assets, behind Berkshire Bank, and first position on equipment in the restaurant. It also secured a personal guarantee from the owner. “We had three firewalls built into the deal,” Gillen said.

Under the agreement, Metroplex would lease the Van Dyck’s 301 Union St. parking lot for 10 years at a one-time fee of $100,000, would provide the Van Dyck with a $200,000 zero-interest loan, and would grant the Van Dyck a $75,000 line of credit. Metroplex also retained rights to the name “Van Dyck Restaurant and Brewery.”

Metroplex board member Gary McCarthy, who voted against the Van Dyck deal, said Metroplex should never have worked with the Van Dyck management. However, he said he thinks Metroplex will come close to breaking even on the deal.