DENVER (AP) - A development management company accused of showing favoritism toward a construction bidder on the Colorado Convention Center expansion project signed a $250,000 settlement with state investigators.
The agreement Trammell Crow Co. signed with the office of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser follows a $1.3 million settlement reached earlier this month with bidder Mortenson Construction, The Denver Post reports.
State investigators and city officials placed fault on Dallas-based Trammell Crow’s operation in Colorado, but the company received a reduced fine because of its “early cooperation” with city officials and the investigation, according to a settlement document.
Denver halted its planned $233 million rooftop expansion project at the Colorado Convention Center in December 2018 when Mayor Michael Hancock announced officials had fired Trammell Crow as the project’s manager.
Mortenson Construction agreed to pay $650,000 to the state and donate construction services worth the same amount as the fine. The services are to be used on an undetermined project to assist the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The settlements with Trammell Crow and Mortenson come as Denver is wrapping up a restarted bid process that was set back more than a year by the bid-rigging scandal.
The case underlines equity issues in public bidding that can prevent fair treatment of less-established contractors, especially those owned by women or minorities, Weiser said.
“It’s important, for me, to make sure that public procurement processes are competitive and fair, so that citizens get the best deal possible,” Weiser said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The vast majority of people recover.
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