A day after Hartford's stadium developer said he was about to put a settlement proposal on the table for the entire $350 million downtown project, the head of the city's stadium authority said he wouldn't trust it if he got it.
"The question is, can we believe what is said on the paper?" Hartford Stadium Authority chairman I. Charles Mathews said of developer Centerplan Companies and CEO Bob Landino. "He's been talking about giving the city a proposal for the last three weeks... At some point, when you're dealing with a partner, there has to be a degree of trust."
"Speaking personally," Mathews said, "I no longer trust what they say."
The minor league Yard Goats were to have begun playing baseball in Hartford back in April, and now it's July -- and it's exceedingly unlikely that any professional pitches will be thrown this season. The stadium is both late and over budget, and the city terminated Centerplan a few weeks back. That stopped construction while lawyers and surety people figure out what's next. The developer blames the city and the team, the city and the team blame the developer, and the relationships are, at best, strained.
But this is about more than just the $60 million stadium. The city also has contracts with Centerplan to build the rest of the downtown development project, including retail, a grocery store, housing, and a hotel. Its future is now in question, too. Mathews said the only way to really overcome the trust issue he has with the developer is for Landino to put cash in the bank to prove he has it.
"To my way of thinking, any proposal would have to include an escrow account with millions of dollars in it that will be put in that account by Bob Landino," Mathews said.
In a statement, Landino pushed back.
"If Mr. Matthews took the time to understand the agreement he has with us and actually listened to lawyers versed in construction law, he would understand that the city, not us, has violated the basic tenants of their agreement," Landino said.
Landino said he was prepared to pay to finish the ballpark with his own money, provided the city gives him relief from the requirement to build a grocery store -- for which he has tried unsuccessfully to find an operator. He said he reserved his right to go back and sue for that money later. He also wanted a commitment that the city would let him continue as developer for the rest of the downtown project.
"There is a payment bond in place to ensure that there is an insurance company that stands by our proposal," Landino said. "It's unfortunate that he city is not motivated to solve the problem, and their views on legal facts appear so uninformed. The alternative is to tie up all the land around the ball park in multi-year litigation, which will leave the city with no revenue to support their bond payment obligation, which is again short sighted and in my view, completely irresponsible."
This all comes a day after Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said he would look at any settlement proposal Landino puts forward, but with a fair amount of skepticism.
"We’re always willing to discuss any proposals that are real, but we can’t comment on something we haven’t seen," Bronin said in a statement. "Before terminating Centerplan, we repeatedly asked them to show us that they had a sound plan and adequate financing to finish the job, and they either couldn’t or wouldn’t. We’ve been told for weeks now that a proposal is coming, but we haven’t seen anything yet. If we get a serious proposal, we’ll take it seriously.”
