Trammell Crow, the company at the heart of a developing construction project scandal at the Colorado Convention Center, has fired an employee it said was responsible.
The Denver mayor’s office terminated the contract for the Trammell Crow real estate development company on Tuesday, citing misconduct. Trammell Crow was working to collect bids and select a contractor for the $233 million expansion of the Convention Center.
Now Trammell Crow admits it had inappropriate contact with a company — believed to be Mortenson Construction, one of the largest construction companies doing city work — during the bidding process
“An employee who had improper communications with a bidder in the preliminary stages of the general contractor selection process related to the expansion of the Colorado Convention Center has been terminated,” Trammell Crow said in a statement.
“We are mortified that this occurred,” said Trammell Crow Company Denver senior managing director Bill Mosher in the statement. “In no way were the actions of the employee authorized by Trammell Crow Company. They are contrary to the values of our company and our longstanding business practices. We are cooperating fully with the City of Denver and continuing to conduct our own internal investigation.”
Mortenson Construction said it has also launched an internal investigation.
The city of Denver, which owns the convention center, has asked the District Attorney to investigate and is restarting the bidding process. The city said so far, it doesn’t appear any city employees were involved.
