It’s been more than three years since the city of Hartford fired Centerplan Construction, the original developer of the Dunkin’ Donuts Park baseball stadium. The firing prompted Centerplan to sue the city, saying it was wrongfully terminated. Jurors heard closing arguments in the case Monday.
Hartford said it fired Centerplan in 2016 because of missed deadlines and “shoddy” construction work.
But Centerplan contested that. For the past month, it argued that it was, in fact, the city that was dragging its feet and caused the project to miss key deadlines.
The delays ended up causing the Yard Goats to play their entire first season on the road.
At stake in the civil case are potentially millions of dollars in damages, which the city could be forced to pay if a six-person jury finds in favor of the developer.
Meanwhile, ongoing legal issues have stalled development on several key parcels of land around the stadium, which was planned for mixed-use development and was a key selling point for the stadium when it was initially proposed.
Copyright 2019 Connecticut Public Radio
