Polar Park contractor will pay $1.9 million for allegedly deceiving Worcester officials
WORCESTER — The company in charge of constructing Polar Park has agreed to pay $1.9 million for allegedly falsifying its efforts to hire woman- and minority-owned businesses as subcontractors on the multimillion-dollar ballpark project.
The penalty against Gilbane/Hunt was filed Wednesday in Suffolk Superior Court by the office of state Attorney General Maura Healey.
More:Councilor calls for 'fact check' on lower-than-reported minority contracts for Polar Park project
Healey's office alleged that Gilbane/Hunt violated the state’s False Claims Act and consumer protection laws by falsely stating in its bid for the project that it planned to maximize participation of woman- and minority-owned businesses.
After its bid was selected, Gilbane Hunt allegedly misrepresented the status of woman- and minority-owned businesses participation to the Worcester Redevelopment Authority until the project was substantially complete.
“Construction companies in Massachusetts must live up to their promises to create opportunities for women and minority-owned businesses on public projects,” said Healey in a prepared statement. “If a company says that the inclusion of diverse businesses is a priority in an effort to win a public contract, we are going to ensure that they are held accountable for those representations.”
Gilbane/Hunt said it disagrees with the allegations.
"While the Gilbane-Hunt joint-venture team fully cooperated with this investigation, we strongly disagree with the allegations and this settlement framework does not include any admission of liability," Gilbane/Hunt said, in a statement. "The joint-venture team is proud of constructing the Polar Park project and our commitment to diversity, inclusion and driving economic opportunity in the community."
Gilbane/Hunt is a joint venture between Gilbane Building Company of Providence and Hunt Construction Group, Inc. of Indianapolis.
The settlement means $1.9 million will be paid to the state, with $500,000 of that amount returned to Worcester as restitution. Worcester officials agreed to use the funds to promote woman- and minority owned-business participation in government contracts.
“The City of Worcester plans to utilize the $500,000 proceeds along with $550,000 we have already committed through the American Rescue Plan Act to help implement our Minority and Women Business Enterprise initiative,” said Worcester City Manager Eric Batista in a prepared statement. “Our work to improve government contracting opportunities with underrepresented businesses is one of our recent initiatives to ensure our economic development strategy is more equitable and inclusive.”
Gilbane/Hunt’s bid in 2019 committed to using “best efforts” and a “robust action plan” to reach the project’s goal of 20% woman- and minority-owned business participation. Based on those promises, the Worcester Redevelopment Authority awarded the winning bid.
Healey's office stated that Gilbane/Hunt failed to provide monthly updates to city officials on the status of woman- and minority-owned business spending on the project. Instead, the construction manager reported projected values that resulted in the city believing that Gilbane/Hunt was achieving a 17% to 18% participation, when actually 11% to 12% of the work was allocated to woman- and minority-owned businesses.
WGBH News broke the news in 2021 that Gilbane/Hunt failed to meet the 20% goal and mislead city officials.
The attorney general’s investigation determined the general contractor failed to disclose WGBH’s investigation as required by state law.
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Gilbane/Hunt to pay $1.9M fine related to Polar Park construction
