Rejected Bidders Challenge Liberty Junction's $2 Billion Courthouse Award Over Conflict Claims
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 17
Rejected Bidders Challenge Liberty Junction's $2 Billion Courthouse Award Over Conflict Claims
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 17
Summary
Rejected bidders sued to block Massachusetts' nearly $2 billion, 40-year Springfield courthouse lease, arguing the early-July award to the Liberty Junction team was tainted by conflicts of interest.
John Barros — a CoJo Real Estate partner on the winning team — is also interim head of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, and plaintiffs say overlapping board ties with the selecting agency created an undisclosed conflict.
The lawsuit also cites Conan Harris, Rep. Ayanna Pressley's husband and another CoJo partner, though it does not accuse Pressley of wrongdoing or present evidence she influenced the procurement.
Gov. Maura Healey defended the process as competitive and the lowest-cost option for taxpayers, while the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance urged her administration to pause the deal and release procurement and disclosure records.