WORCESTER, Mass. - The company in charge of building Polar Park has agreed to pay nearly $2 million over false claims allegations.
Gilbane/Hunt misled the Worcester Redevelopment Authority regarding women and minority-owned business subcontracting, according to the Office of Attorney General Maura Healey.
As part of Gilbane/Hunt's bid to be construction manager for the park, they committed to using "best efforts" to achieve the project's 20% combined women and minority-owned business goal and said they would implement a "robust action plan" to ensure those goals were met. The AG's office said once the project was underway, the company did little to encourage women and minority-owned businesses' participation and did not track where the spending stood with respect to the 20% goal.
Gilbane/Hunt will pay $1.9 million to the state to resolve the allegations. The AG's office will return $500,000 to the City of Worcester as restitution. The city has agreed to use the money to promote women and minority-owned businesses' participation in government contracting.
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