Trammell Crow settles bid-rigging accusations in Denver convention center expansion

The development manager accused of showing favoritism toward a construction bidder on the Colorado Convention Center expansion project has signed a $250,000 settlement with state investigators.

Trammell Crow’s agreement with the office of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, set to be announced Wednesday, follows a $1.3 million settlement reached earlier this month with the bidder in question, Mortenson Construction. All that remains of the investigation initiated by Denver city officials in December 2018 is a probe into the conduct of a former Trammell Crow executive.

Though state investigators and city officials placed heavy fault on Dallas-based Trammell Crow’s local operation, the company is getting off with the lighter fine because of its “early cooperation” with city officials and the investigation, according to the settlement document.

Weiser said the case has underlined equity issues in public bidding that sometimes keep less-established contractors — especially those owned by women or minorities — from being treated fairly.

“It’s important, for me, to make sure that public procurement processes are competitive and fair, so that citizens get the best deal possible,” he said.

This month’s settlements have come as Denver is wrapping up a restarted bid process that was set back more than a year by the bid-rigging scandal. City officials’ accusation that Trammell Crow improperly shared information and colluded with Mortenson added another hurdle to the convention center’s planned $233 million rooftop expansion, first approved by city voters in 2015.

City officials have said they plan to release an updated budget and timeline in coming months, but it’s unlikely the expansion will be completed for at least two or three more years. The project is aimed at updating the large building and adding a new level of meeting space to attract more events and conventions.

Mortenson agreed to pay a $650,000 fine and to donate construction services worth at least that amount to a project geared toward helping with the COVID-19 pandemic. That project hasn’t yet been identified.

In both cases, the fines will go not to the city but to the attorney general’s office to cover its investigation costs and pay for future enforcement and education activities.

Trammell Crow, hired as the city’s program manager, was charged with shepherding the convention center project along, including helping to run a bid process that attracted three construction contenders. Trammell Crow was paid about $1 million before Mayor Michael Hancock pulled the plug and announced the halt of bidding.

Trammell Crow quickly fired senior vice president Michael Sullivan, who had exchanged several emails with Mortenson executives that city officials questioned. The company pledged to cooperate, saying at the time that its leaders were “mortified that this has occurred.”

“It started with the question on the table: Was this a criminal matter?” Weiser said, as first the Denver district attorney’s office and then his office investigated. “We did conclude that there was no basis for criminal liability, and that left us with the question of what was the appropriate civil liability.”

Sullivan’s individual conduct still is under investigation, Weiser confirmed. The Denver Post’s past attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful.

In a statement, Trammell Crow said its own internal investigation, conducted by a law firm, “determined that this situation arose from the actions of one individual who violated Trammell Crow Company’s business values and principles.”

“We take very seriously our business values and our 60-year history as a civic and corporate leader in Denver and Colorado,” the statement says.

The attorney general’s office cited evidence, reported earlier by The Post, that Sullivan gave Mortenson preferential treatment by sharing confidential information.

DOCUMENT: Trammell Crow settlement with Colorado attorney general’s office