Does it look complete?
It has been a while since I have heard their ads but the tagline was always "on budget and on time". Isn't that a novel idea. Instead we got Landino and Centerplan. Maybe their tagline should be " no completion without litigation".
Centerplan has been a disaster from the start and the Dunkin Donuts Stadium was most likely a project they were never equipped to tackle from the beginning.
A quick trip around the perimeter of the project today should tell anyone that they are in over their head. The video below shows how far the project is from completion. Some contractors I spoke with today at the site suggested August might be a more reasonable completion time.
The big question is where to go now? I think everyone will agree that Mayor Luke Bronin inherited a major mistake when he took office. With that being said, he now has to fix it. The project was too far along and we were already on the hook for Segarra's Follies to back out in December.
But now it is Luke's. I don't think Mayor Bronin can pass the mess off on the previous Council and Mayor any longer. Bronin has to accept ownership and he has several remedies open to him to gain the trust back from his constituents., To do nothing and coast hoping completion will eventually happen is not one of those options.
As I said before, Centerplan is a disaster. Landino was never equipped to do projects of this size. Just because you are a former State Rep. and have political connections does not necessarily make someone a developer. It might grease the skids to be awarded government contracts, but Landino has already proven he can't deliver on several State of Connecticut projects.
But yet Deller and Segarra awarded him one , if not the, largest development project in Hartford in years. And once again, Landino failed. Even if there is no baseball played in Hartford this year ( which I am told there will not be) Landino and Centerplan needs to be sent on their way tomorrow and the performance bond they provided needs to be called and recover as much as possible of Hartford's potential losses.
I am not optimistic that Saundra Kee-Borges and Pedro Segarra protected us well enough legally to prevent major losses. Something tells me the Solomon's had better lawyers than SKB to protect their interests.
The Stadium Authority should have been replaced months ago by people that recognized a B/S storm when they were fed one. Anyone that knew anything about construction should have known months ago this wasn't going to happen. Too many critical deadlines were missed and just walking by the site, any of the Authority members should have seen the construction was not progressing properly.
Name me one member of that Authority who has ever been involved in a project of this size before or even has any construction experience. When Police Officers working outside the site tell me it was the most disorganized project they have ever seen months ago, someone on the Authority should have been hearing the same thing, and been concerned.
I. Charles Matthews has been a total failure to the people of Hartford when he was entrusted to chair the Stadium Authority.
The law suits will begin flowing soon on this one, and Mayor Bronin needs to be a Mayor of action on this one, not a politician rewarding people that delivered votes and donations. Too much is riding on the reputation of our City to sit balk and just talk.
The time for talk has long passed, the plan of action should have been already worked on and in place to start tomorrow to remedy the situation. This requires some tough and decisive actions on the part of Mayor Bronin but he was elected to protect the interests of the people of the City of Hartford and not Landino or Centerplan or anyone else.
Go YardGoats, goodbye Centerplan.
Whoaaaa . . . well-written analysis, Kevin. I think the Council should also be brought into assess possible outcomes. And NOW, not later.
ReplyDeleteHere is the "now what":
ReplyDelete1. Kick DoNo LLC and Centerplan out of Hartford immediately. Stop any payment to these companies for misrepresentation and failure to deliver.
2. Look for another, EXPERIENCED, contractor. Take your time, anyway the season is already dead for the Yard Goats.
3. Fire all Segarra appointed Stadium Authority members. They are clueless, they were part of the problem from the beginning.
4. Go after the bond issuer, they will have to pay the balances, the damages and the extra costs.
If a boilerplate construction contract was used, as in the case of AIA (American Institute of Architects)documents, there should be language regarding "liquidated damages" which is basically a "fine" for not finishing on time. The amount of liquidated damages assessed on a daily basis for the amount of time that runs past the deadline is different for each project, usually based on the scope of work, the contract amount, and the owner's desire to get the project completed by a particular date so that one can plan grand openings, ribbon cuttings, and/or comply with other service contracts that follow the construction contract. Maybe you could FOIA a copy of the construction contract and all amendments issued thereto. Usually one does not call in a performance bond unless it is obvious that the contractor will basically never finish within a reasonable time frame even if it exceeds the deadline, i.e., his workforce goes on strike or he goes out of business and/ or bankrupt. Assessing the liquidated damages is usually what will make him speed up once it's apparent he won't finish on time. Again, we'd have to see the exact contract language.
ReplyDeleteTAKE ACTION. BE TOUGH. TIME TO BRING REAL PROFESSIONALS, ENOUGH WITH ALL THOSE GOLD DIGGERS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING.
ReplyDeleteC'mon, didn't we all know that the stadium was not going to be ready?
ReplyDeleteKevin, after watching this current video I cannot believe that just two weeks ago--at the last Stadium Authority meeting--chairman I. Charles Mathews proclaimed with a big smile how beautiful the stadium looked, and how impressed he was. And in yesterday's Hartford Courant story, some Yard Goats players said basically the same thing. Maybe they were all actually in New Britain, and got confused?
ReplyDeleteCenterplan said they had been working 20 hours a day, 7 days a week, using up to 400 construction workers a day (many of them earning 10-20 hours of overtime each week) for the past couple of months. Apparently--as IFG's Kevin Green stated at that last meeting--it was a case of too little, too late. Even with an unpracticed eye, it's easy to see from this video that there was no possibility of having it "substantially completed" by today.
Did the principals in this project, as well as the media, think that little elves were going to take on the job and get everything finished by midnight tonight? Was this unbelievable lack of pointing out the obvious designed to create high drama and anticipation among the reading and viewing public? Did they want us to believe that the developer could pull off a "buzzer shot" win, a la Tate George in the famous UConn-Georgetown game? Magic and miracles?
Since Segarra's "done deal" announcement on the steps of city hall just about two years ago, this whole project has continued to reek of smoke-and-mirrors. Now the mayor is charged with pulling a big, fat rabbit out of a teeny tiny hat. Has he got an ace up his sleeve? We'll see...
I'd bring back Pedro Segarra and Shawn Wooden to complete the work at the stadium. Maybe out of Hartford Cynthia Jennings could be helpful as well.
ReplyDeleteMy question is this...
ReplyDeleteIf Centerplan is asked to leave, what happens to the development surrounding the public expenditure that was theoretically supposed to be funding this project. Can we afford to kiss 200 million goodbye?
So if Centerplan is asked to leave, what happens to the 200 million dollar followup development that was theoretically going to help fund this project? Housing, hotel, grocery and so forth... gone?
ReplyDeleteLets publish the stf overtime kronos system numbers... That would require a strong drink on ann st to explain the need to give one person 40 hrs of overtime in one week. Kronos does not lie and if my finger slips and hits the print button, oh no ....
ReplyDelete40 hrs of overtime for what? Take home SUV? Life is good for some special units. Im just glad things are back to normal. Im sure it is completely logical and non obtuse how 40 hrs of overtime is used to serve the bankrupt city.
ReplyDelete9:14pm Do you really think that is going to happen? have you heard anymore lately about the supermarket, the retail, the housing. When do you think Hard Rock Cafe is breaking ground?
ReplyDeleteI'm going down there now. I just want to witness the false promise pass into smoke.
ReplyDeleteMayor Erin Stewart is laughing daily when news of this stadium is published.Hartford should be begging for New Britain to take these cats back.
ReplyDelete9:57 PM
Deleteproblem is they're no longer "cats," they're now "rats," the YARD RATS.
Mayor Stewart laughed at Pedro and his cronies, Shawn Wooden and I Charles and such, now she is laughing at Bronin's inexperience.
DeleteBronin you OWN it! Man up little boy, kick them to the curb; NoDo is a NoGo, since they are a NoShow!
Mayor Erin Stewart has a million reasons to laugh at the stupidity in Hartford. She had to spend small change on the New Britain stadium, and the team is already playing there.
ReplyDeleteDoNo LLC and Centerplan missed the deadline. AGAIN.
ReplyDeleteFool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Maybe we can take some of that stinky pinky stf overtime to help fund the ball park, or maybe save a few jobs. But then again, what does Mr 40 hrs ot a week care ....
ReplyDeleteGet rid of Centerplan and DoNo for breach of contract (Make sure they take Charles Mathews and his colleagues at the authority with them on the way out).
ReplyDeleteI just returned from Dunkin Donuts. Guess what? Did someone say Augurst as a finish date? Try September. There is no season this year.
ReplyDeleteI expect Bronin to invoke the $50,000.00 first late day fine tomorrow. $15,000.00 thereafter every day that it isn't finished.
The longer it takes to complete the stadium, the better.
DeleteJust a little math: 200 days late will cost Centerplan $3 million. I like that.
MAYOR ERIN STEWART: GREAT JOB!
ReplyDeleteDISMISSED MAYOR PEDRO E.SEGARRA: YOU ARE A MORON AND A LOSER!
Deal makers money takers. Where is the FBI when you need them. Deal to sweet to be legit. Only in Hartford. SMH
ReplyDeletePhase 2, which is the apartments etc will never be built,it was a con job to get the City to award them the entire deal.Moreover, Centerplan does not have a bank commitment to finance phase 2. It was all bullshit to get the deal.
ReplyDeleteLance Boyle
DeleteI also believed it was all bullshit from the beginning so they can get this job. Therefore they should be dismissed for poor performance and misrepresentation.
Did anybody really expect this whole project to be completed in the allotted time frame? It was impossible from the beginning. Wake up people, the time for blame is over.
ReplyDeleteJosh is some what responsible. He allowed mighty clueless I Charles Matthews who has no experience in any of this lead the way. Parading him around like a hired hand that has the perception he is a community leader was as wrong as some of the mistakes that have been created by all.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to bring Donald Trump on this stadium crap that was negotiated poorly by clueless Segarra and his corrupt team. Donald Trump will squeeze everyone involved until he gets the best possible deal. Trust me, Hartford would be making money if the Donald was involved.
ReplyDeleteWho decided to hire Centerplan and DoNo to build this stadium? How many stadiums, if any, these contractors ever build?
ReplyDelete8:02 it all comes down to the greatest team on earth (just in time for the Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Circus): Segarra, Deller, SKB and Wooden. The 4 clowns in the circus.
Delete@ 8:02 I believe Centerplan has no experience constructing any sports facility.
DeleteThis morning the Courant's Jeff Jacobs:
ReplyDelete"Solomon Has A Chance To Be The Savior Hartford Needs In Stafium Fiasco."
Jacobs adds by calling Josh Solomon to show his loyalty now.
Jeff Jacobs who supported building the stadium without understanding what's involved, especially in a poor city like hartford, acts like a complete idiot. Jacobs is now a beggar telling the Solomons what to do. That's his way: face a huge failure then ask the wealthy for help.
If you, Jeff Jacobs, had some brain, you would have told the other idiots, Pedro Segarra and Thomas Deller ("we are great negotiators") to get the Solomons pay for the stadium or a significant cost of the stadium.
BRONIN MUST FIRE ANYONE WHO WAS PART OF THIS STADIUM FAILURE. ANY INDIVIDUAL AND ANY COMPANY.
ReplyDelete@8:26 a.m.
ReplyDeleteWell, it's happened. I didn't think it was possible for Jeff Jacobs to become any more obnoxious, and more obsequious, than he has been previously. I didn't think he could ever prove to be a worse "journalist" than he'd already shown himself to be. But he's done it here. What a pathetic piece of writing. And what a sad, impotent attempt to once again sling mud at the "naysayers" and salve his bruised ego. Pathetic...
7:52
ReplyDeleteTake Trump and shove it. You don't have anything to add to the dialogue. Unfortunately, the only thing we can obviously hope for is a total collapse of the project. Does anyone know if the grandstand roofs were left out of the plans.
I don't think Centerplan or Landino had any experience previously. I think it was all on the job training funded by the taxpayers of Connecticut and Hartford
ReplyDeleteKevin:
DeleteIf Centerplan or Landino had no prior experience, how were they chosen to build the stadium?
I still remember Pedrito describing the work progress and being certain that the stadium was going to be completed on budget and on time.
ReplyDeleteWhere is Pedrito now?
3:58PM
ReplyDeletecan you say politics? Maybe this should be the next Grand Jury investigation how a now close to 70 million dollar contract was given out with "no bids"
Any news regarding Grand Jury #1 / Dillon "The Other" Stadium?
ReplyDeleteNothing solid, plenty of rumors as to who is going down. I only hope the rumors are true.
ReplyDelete2:12pm
ReplyDeletethe roofs were cut out to save money when the project ran over budget
In the old days - when Hartford had the City Council/City Manager form of government, the City's Purchasing Dept., (even with politics involved) would have had an advertised bid; bid opening; bid award; performance bonds, Certificate of Insurance naming the City of Hartford as an additional insured and other standard operating procedures to ensure taxpayers would not be ripped off. There should be discussion as to how much worse off the city has become and millions of dollars lost since the beginning of the "Strong Mayor" era. I am in agreement that an immediate recall of Strong Mayor should begin. Unfortunately, a lot of greedy people thought Hartford was ripe for the taking: Low information voters, lack of engagement between residents and government, etc. Approx. 7,500 Hartford residents, with no understanding of what they were voting for, allowed this to happen. Look what we got!
ReplyDeleteWhy is it every time the Authority chair I Charles big month say anything about this mess he help create it opposit of what the facts are? He is not a respected person in Hartford that's why he moved out of town. He is an outsider with his hands in people pockets. Check it out !!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLet's see what Bronin is going to get for the city out of these millionaires/ billionaire. Let's see who's going to pay the millions needed to substaincially complete the stadium.
ReplyDeleteA screw up after screw up. The contractors, the city, the stadium authority. Hartford always was a total mess. It still is. No leadership, no accountability. Screw up after screw up. And we, Hartford tax payers, pay the bills, pay for the corruption, pay for the mistakes.
ReplyDelete