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Arch to Takeover Dunkin’ Donuts Park Completion

Hartford Yard GoatsAfter months of uncertainty, it has been determined that Arch Insurance will be tasked with the completion of Dunkin’ Donuts Park. The ballpark is now scheduled to be completed by April 13, 2017, the Hartford Yard Goats (Class AA; Eastern League) scheduled home opener. 

The City of Hartford had called on an insurance bond from Arch, which was tasked with investigating the claim. This was part of the fallout of the delays and overruns that plagued Dunkin’ Donuts Park, which had is contractor–Centerplan Cos. and DoNo, LLC–terminated after the project missed a May 17 occupancy deadline. Dunkin’ Donuts Park’s opening–then scheduled for May 31–had to be delayed once again, only for the stoppage in construction to force the Yard Goats to spend the remainder of the 2016 season on the road.

All along, mayor Luke Bronin and other Hartford officials maintained that it was up to Arch to determine when the project should be completed. With the announcement that the company will cover the project, the city now seeks to move forward. More from the Hartford Courant:

“I have no doubt it was the right thing to do, but that doesn’t mean it was the guaranteed outcome,” Bronin said.

Now it will be up to Arch Insurance, which will oversee construction to completion to determine who will finish the ballpark. When asked about the possibility that Centerplan be brought back to the job, Bronin said that was up to Arch to decide. City officials have said publicly that they don’t believe Centerplan should be brought back to the job based on two failed deadlines to complete the project and cost overruns that have seen the construction costs go from $56 million to more than $70 million.

The pressure had been turned up on Hartford in recent weeks, as both Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon and Eastern League president Joe McEachern warned that the team could look elsewhere if the project was not completed.

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