DIA COMPLAINS ABOUT CONTRACTOR
Great Hall Partners accused of “unsafe, unprofessional construction practices”
Denver International Airport has sent critical letters to Great Hall Partners, accusing it of “unsafe and unprofessional construction practices.
Denver International Airport this week fired off multiple letters — two of them breach-ofcontract notices — to the partnership heading up the $650 million overhaul of the busy airport’s main terminal building, accusing the contractor of engaging in “unsafe and unprofessional construction practices that put its workers and airport passengers at risk.”
Namely, it cited escalators between the airport train platform and the terminal’s main floor that have been out of operation for approximately seven weeks and two baggage carousels that remain sequestered behind temporary construction walls that DIA officials say should have been taken down weeks ago.
DIA accused Great Hall Partners of “purposefully and knowingly interfering with Airport Activities,” which it said is a violation of the contract the contractor signed with the city of Denver in August 2017 when it was chosen for the project.
Airport officials also accused Great Hall Partners this week of being “woefully behind” on its commitment to hire minorityand women-owned businesses to take part in the renovation of the 1.5 million-square-foot terminal.
The letters were obtained by The Denver Post through an open records request.
Great Hall Partners said in an email Friday evening that it was “disappointed” by the “mischaracterizations and false allegations made in these letters.”
“We have complied with all aspects of the Development Agreement, and are fully committed to continuing to ensure best practices in both safety and diversity,” it said through a spokeswoman. “We are addressing these allegations directly with DEN and will continue to meet our obligations under the Agreement in order to deliver the project, which we be
lieve is in the best interest of all parties.”
It’s the latest clash between the airport and the partnership. Great Hall Partners has claimed weak concrete found in the main terminal floor and change orders from DIA officials could run up costs by nearly 50 percent and delay the project by 18 months. The sides have entered into mediation sessions this summer seeking to resolve some of their issues.
“The biggest thing is we have identified some ongoing safety concerns that need to be addressed,” DIA spokeswoman Stacey Stegman said Friday. “And we want to make they get addressed immediately so they don’t continue to linger. This is a record-setting summer for us.”
Last year, DIA handled a record 64 million passengers. In June, the airport twice surpassed the record for passengers in a single day, with 216,000 passengers using the facility on June 16.
Regarding minority hiring, DIA officials said of the $50.6 million the contractor has paid in professional services costs so far, only $4 million has gone to minority-and women-owned firms, the letter states. At 8 percent, that falls well short of the 33 percent Great Hall Partners set as a goal when it bid for the project, airport officials say.
Similarly, Great Hall Partners has so far paid only $3 million out of the $105 million it committed to paying minority- and women-owned firms for construction work inside the terminal, the letter alleges.
“The failures set forth above display Developer’s indifference to the commitments it made to the City, the Owner, and to Denver’s minority and women business community,” the letter says.
Perhaps more important in the short term are letters DIA sent to Great Hall Partners outlining problems with the still-broken escalators and the temporary construction walls that are still standing despite floor work that was supposed to have been completed weeks ago.
Failure to fix these issues soon “may result in termination of this agreement,” DIA warned Great Hall Partners.
Specifically, DIA said Great Hall Partners caused a fire last month that disabled two escalators in the main terminal.
“Instead of immediately addressing the issue, Developer waited 28 days to begin the clean-up,” DIA’s letter states. The escalators remain closed seven weeks after the fire.
And the airport said Great Hall Partners has left in place temporary walls nearly two months after contractors were supposed to have finished installing terrazzo flooring — blocking access to two baggage carousels.
“Every day that the (walls) remain standing, this disruption to Airport Activities continues to unnecessarily prolong the strain on Airport operations and the traveling public,” the letter states.
The fourth letter said that a senior-level representative with Great Hall Partners asked during a safety meeting this week: “How much is it not legal to build without a permit?”
“This question showed an incredible lack of professionalism and a lack of basic understanding of what is required to design, permit, and construct a project within the City and County of Denver,” the letter states.