Construction Firm Pays Penance For Bid-Rigging Scheme By Funding Tiny Home Village

"The organization launching Denver’s second tiny-home village for the homeless has sped up the project with help from an unexpected partner — a construction firm paying penance for its role in the city’s convention center bid-rigging scandal," reports Jon Murray.

The project in question is the Women’s Village at Clara Brown Commons. "When completed this fall on East 37th Avenue near York Street, it will have a cluster of 14 standalone tiny homes and a larger common house with bathrooms, a kitchen, meeting space and other services," according to Murray.

The construction company in question, Mortensen Construction agreed to a settlement with the Colorado State Attorney General that Murray described as unorthodox back in April when the settlement was announced. 

As for the peculiar route that this project used to secure its financing, Murray catches the story up with the present day in the article this week about the Women's Village: "At first, the intent was that Mortenson and executives involved in the convention center bid would help with a project geared toward the COVID-19 pandemic, such as a field hospital. But the need for such a project receded as hospitalizations declined."

Some of the cities and states dealing with development-related corruption scandals might want to take notice (we're looking at you, Boston, Los Angeles, Toledo, and Ohio).