Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin officially called the $47.1 million performance bond on DoNo baseball stadium builder Centerplan Construction Co., asserting that the Middletown-based developer has defaulted on its contract commitments to the city.
This afternoon, the city formally notified Centerplan’s surety insurer, Arch Insurance Co., that the developer has failed to perform their obligations, and that the insurer has a duty to make sure the project is completed at no further cost to the taxpayers of Hartford.
“The developer has threatened to abandon the job if we call the bond, but to do that would be another breach of contract. They have a clear obligation to keep working, and if they believe that calling the bond wash¹t necessary, they can prove it by finishing the job as soon as possible with the resources they’ve been given,” Bronin said.
Bronin said in a statement, “At this point, the developers have repeatedly missed deadlines and, we believe, continue to run over-budget. We have no choice but to bring the surety to the table to manage and finance completion of the ballpark.”
Hartford Yard Goats owner Josh Solomon on Thursday backed the plan by the city and its stadium authority to call the payment and performance bond on the delayed Dunkin’ Donuts Park. He called it the only course of action available as the developer has shown no ability to meet the agreed upon schedules or effectively manage the project.
“We’re extremely disappointed that Centerplan did not deliver the stadium as promised, confirmed and reconfirmed,” Solomon said in a statement.
Centerplan didn’t respond to a request for comment.
As previously reported, the developers DoNo Hartford LLC and Centerplan Cos. could face tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties, depending on how long it takes them to reach “substantial completion” on the stadium.
The penalties are $50,000 on the first day past the deadline, followed by $15,000 per day until the stadium is done.
Solomon said the Yard Goats have already lost 54 percent of their home season and are on the verge of losing the entire 2016 season. “This is causing great hardship not just for our team, but for our fans, sponsors and the hundreds of Hartford residents who were counting on jobs at the ballpark,” he said.
Originally scheduled to open their Hartford home season on April 7, opening day was pushed back until May 31 because of construction delays at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in downtown Hartford. When developers didn’t have the stadium substantially completed by May 17, the team and its league needed to extend the Double-A team’s home game schedule at Dodd Stadium in Norwich.
At this point it is presumed the earliest the stadium would open is sometime after mid-June.
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