The state attorney general's office has ruled that the University of Massachusetts at Lowell violated public bidding laws in awarding a $20 million student housing project to a local developer. Assistant Attorney General Brian C. O'Donnell found that the planned development, a 400-student housing complex that would be leased to the university, is a public construction project that is subject to state bidding laws. University officials had argued that the project, which the developer would own and maintain, was private, giving them greater latitude in awarding the contract. But state officials concluded that the public university created detailed specifications and design concepts for the building and would in all likelihood assume ownership of the property eventually. The ruling could delay construction or even force a rebidding of the project.
Read The Boston Globe article.
From The Boston Globe: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the University of Massachusetts Lowellwrongly bypassed state bidding laws when it cut a deal with a private developer to build a residence hall the school would then lease. The court says the 2008 deal — which has since been abandoned by the school — would have granted Brasi Development LLC easements on state property that required a competitive bidding. AUGUST 2008: The University of Massachusetts at Lowell has backed out of a $20 million residence hall project after an unfavorable ruling from the attorney general's office. University officials denounced as flawed and filled with "egregious misapprehensions of fact." The university notified the developer of the 400-student housing project that it was terminating an agreement to lease the property because of the state's decision, which found that the university violated public bidding laws in awarding the contract.Read The Boston Globe article.EARLIER: Construction of a 400-student housing development contracted by the University of Massachusetts at Lowell is continuing despite a recent ruling by the state attorney general's office that the university violated public bidding laws in awarding the $20 million project. Labor officials and some public contracting specialists are criticizing the ongoing work, saying it flouts the state's decision and sidesteps bidding regulations.Read The Boston Globe article.
