Springfield courthouse procurement faces legal challenge

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is defending the state’s procurement process for the new Springfield Regional Justice Center against legal challenges from unsuccessful bidders. The developers, USPB JV, LLC and Springfield Tower, LLC, filed a lawsuit alleging that the involvement of John Barros in the winning company, Liberty Junction, created a conflict of interest.

Barros, who serves as the interim director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, was a principal in an entity behind Liberty Junction. While Barros announced he would divest from the project last month to address concerns, the plaintiffs have requested an investigation by the Inspector General.

In legal filings, Campbell’s office dismissed the allegations as “nothing more than a fever dream of imagined malfeasance,” arguing that the procurement by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) was proper and that the new judicial center will save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Critics, including the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, have questioned whether state resources are being used to defend political allies.