As two of ten losing bidders on the $2 billion state contract for a new Springfield courthouse sue to stop the deal, another real estate development team who also lost out on the lucrative deal said defenders of the politically connected contract are spreading a “false narrative.”
The controversial state contract was awarded to a bidding group that included the head of the Convention Center and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley’s husband among officials.
Gateway Justice Partners, represented by OPAL Real Estate Group at a Springfield City Council subcommittee hearing last week, told local officials that Liberty Junction – the partnership awarded the massive deal – was not the cheapest proposal for the Commonwealth, as defenders of the bid have stated.
Gateway declared on one slide in its presentation to Springfield officials that any claim the contested contract is cheaper are “absolutely false.”
Liberty Junction is a partnership of three companies, which includes CoJo Partners – a firm co-owned by interim Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) John Barros and Pressley’s husband, Conan Harris. The partnership also includes Suffolk Construction and Virginia-based real estate developer FD Stonewater.
“The narrative that the selected proposal is the cheapest by $300 million is a false narrative used to defend selecting a proposal that is not the cheapest nor best value and has too many hidden costs to taxpayers,” OPAL Vice-President Frank...
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