Steps are being taken to resume work on Dunkin’ Donuts Park, future home of the Hartford Yard Goats (Class AA; Eastern League), as the city pays an outstanding bill to the project architect, Pendulum.
Work can’t begin on the halted project without an architect overseeing the work, and the payment of more than $245,000 to Kansas City-based Pendulum settles the account, as developer DoNo Hartford had not paid the firm for its work. The city will likely seek reimbursement from insurance provider Arch Insurance for the payment, but for now it clears the way for work on the stalled project to begin as soon as tomorrow. From the Hartford Courant:
“Despite all the distractions, threats, and gamesmanship, we’ve stayed laser-focused on getting Arch Insurance to take over construction of the ballpark, because it’s the best result for Hartford and for Hartford’s taxpayers,” [Mayor Luke] Bronin said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “Arch has not yet taken full responsibility, but by formally engaging the architect, they’ve taken a significant step forward in that direction.”
Bronin said that the money it is paying is for past invoices that DoNo Hartford did not pay to Pendulum and that Arch will pay the architects for work going forward. The city has also reserved the right to seek reimbursement from Arch and DoNo Hartford for the funds….
Arch Insurance, the company guaranteeing completion of the ballpark, has been conducting an investigation to determine who is at fault and what needs to be done going forward.
Arch could decide that the fired developers should be brought back on the job because of their familiarity with the project and how close it is to completion, or choose another developer. The city, in a letter to Arch recently, said that it was considering taking on the role of developer, and that Moriarty Construction, a company that had done business with team owner Josh Solomon, had reviewed the project to determine a timeline and cost to finish the ballpark.
As of late there’s been more action among lawyers than among architects and construction workers, as a city shutdown of the project has led ballpark developers Centerplan Cos. and DoNo, LLC to file suit both against the city and the Yard Goats over the current ballpark construction shutdown. There is a certain urgency to the proceedings: the ballpark needs to be done if the Yard Goats will indeed play there in 2017 (the lease gives them an out in six months if the ballpark is not completed), and everyone wants to a competed ballpark in time for the 2017 sales cycle.
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