HARTFORD, Conn — The City of Hartford has settled a years-long lawsuit with the original developers for the area around and including Dunkin' Park stadium, a move that will allow development in the area to move forward.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the city has reached a settlement agreement that will end litigation between it and the Centerplan/DoNo.
In 2016, the City fired the Dono/Centerplan from the baseball park construction project. Dono/Centerplan turned around and filed suit seeking $90 million in damages. Since then, the city won a judgment that was later reversed. Bronin said the case was due to go back to court next spring, costing between $5 and 6 million in legal fees alone and halting any development.
The Court of Common Council will have to approve a $9.9 million payment to Arch Insurance Company, which paid $34 million in 2016 and 2017 to finish the baseball stadium. As part of the agreement, Arch will make a payment of $1.8 million to DoNo/Centerplan. Bronin said because the City reserved sufficient funds for the settlement from its prior year surplus, the settlement will have no impact on the FY 2024 budget
“While I remain confident that the City would have prevailed again at another trial, and while I wish the 2019 jury verdict had ended the matter for good, the litigation would have cost many more millions of dollars in legal fees, would have left the city with ongoing risk, and could have prevented development from moving forward for many years," said Bronin.
"The development around the ballpark will generate tax revenue for the City, reconnect neighborhoods that have long been kept apart by I-84 and the sea of surface parking lots, maintain our economic development momentum, and add hundreds of units of housing as part of the broader mixed-use development," said Bronin.
Doug Stewart is a Senior Digital Content Producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dstewart@fox61.com.
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