Audit critical of costs in building UConn’s Hartford campus

Connecticut’s state auditors on Tuesday released a report criticizing the University of Connecticut for failing to control tens of millions of dollars in cost overruns in the development and construction of its satellite campus in downtown Hartford.

The auditors report found that initial contracts estimated a constriction budget of $70 million, and a total campus project budget including the renovation of the former Hartford Times Building of $87 million.

It found the final construction costs were $102,896,000 and the costs including the renovation were $116,701,564.

The report recommends UConn change its procurement procedures to prevent similar issues with future projects.

“The University of Connecticut should establish the scope and costs of construction projects to ensure that their actual costs are reasonable and consistent with a properly developed original budget,” the auditors wrote.

UConn took issue with the criticism, writing that it is customary and reasonable at the outset of a multifaceted project to use “preliminary benchmarks,” which are later adjusted.

“The University established the scope and costs appropriately, timely, and consistent with the Board of Trustee approvals and expectations for the project as a whole,” school officials wrote in response to the auditors’ finding. “In fact, overall the $140 Million Hartford campus relocation project was completed 6% under the approved budget.”

The auditors said the difference in the initial estimates and the final construction costs far exceeded the 3% to 5% adjustments that the university cited as an accepted industry standard.