Colorado company to pay $650,000, work to build COVID-19 overflow hospital in bid-rigging settlement
Construction company Mortenson has agreed to pay $650,000 and will work to build a 2,000-bed overflow hospital to treat COVID-19 patients following an investigation into a bid-rigging scheme related to Denver’s plans to upgrade and expand the Colorado Convention Center.
The Office of the Attorney General investigated for more than a year whether Mortenson had violated the Colorado Antitrust Act when it competed to become the general contractor of the multi-million dollar expansion project.
According to Attorney General Phil Weiser, the investigation uncovered strong evidence that employees from Mortenson and Trammell Crow, the city’s program manager, exchanged confidential information about the project and procurement process that was not shared with other potential bidders.
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AG Weiser said the communication between Trammell Crow and Mortenson unfairly benefited Mortenson and violated the Colorado Antitrust Act. “Today’s announcement shows we will hold accountable those companies and individuals that undermine the competitive bidding process when they bid for public construction projects and put millions of taxpayer dollars at risk,” Weiser said. “The silver lining is Coloradans will benefit from additional resources to respond to needs we have from the COVID-19 pandemic in our state.”
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The Colorado Convention Center in Denver will be repurposed into a medical facility.
Courtesy of Visit Denver
An artist’s rendering of the expanded Colorado Convention Center.
