Builders were worried about SUNY Poly bidding practices

The arrest of SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros a year ago on accusations he steered millions of dollars in construction contracts to firms connected to the Cuomo administration did little to convince general contractors across the state that business practices at the high-tech school had improved.

Several months after Kaloyeros resigned and Cuomo's economic development chief took over SUNY Poly's real estate and construction projects, a top official at the Associated General Contractors of New York State in Latham notified school officials that he still had concerns over how they were awarding contracts — and whether they were following the letter of the law.

On Dec. 23, Associated General Contractors Vice President Joseph Hogan sent a letter to officials at SUNY Poly's real estate arm, known as Fuller Road Management Corp., asking why they weren't following state law when it came to handing out construction contracts.


The question involved what's known as "design/build" bidding in which a firm is awarded a contract to both design and build a construction project. Until this spring, most state agencies were barred from the practice and had to put the design portion of the project out to bid before awarding the construction portion of the project.

In the letter that recently came to light, Hogan wanted to know why Fuller Road Management had still sought to award a design/build contract on a project to renovate space on the first floor of what is known as the NanoFab East building.

The space had been vacated by EYP, an architecture firm that had won millions of dollars of work on SUNY Poly projects and had moved its operations into SUNY Poly's new $191 million ZEN building on the other side of the campus.

"Given the situation, it would seem appropriate that the industry be given clear indication of why (Fuller Road Management) and SUNY Poly believe that they have the legal authority to engage in a design/build procurement form of contract," Hogan wrote in the letter, addressed to Fuller Road Management purchasing associate Brent Lombard.

SUNY Poly and state officials have argued that as a private non-profit, Fuller Road Management is not an official government agency and therefore technically exempt from government contracting and public disclosure laws.

A spokesman for Empire State Development, the state economic development agency that oversees Fuller Road Management, could not be reached for comment on the letter.

Design/build is commonly used in private industry construction projects and in many cases is considered a more efficient way to get building done. However, others have argued that the practice provides fewer checks and balances on government projects.

Hogan, who declined comment when contacted by the Times Union for this story, mentioned in the December letter that the Associated General Contractors had previously been upset by the bidding process that SUNY Poly had used when it wanted to build a student dorm on its campus.

Hogan noted that his organization had written another letter to SUNY Poly earlier in 2016 asking that the school be "more transparent, open and objective" in the contracting process for the dorm. He added in the letter that if the dorm had been considered a government project at the time, a design/build contract "would have not been allowed by the competitive bidding laws" of the state.

"Since that time, events have called that point into question, and firms involved in the procurements have found themselves in harm's way," Hogan wrote.

The question of whether or not Fuller Road Management can put design/build contracts out to bid became moot in the spring since the law was changed to allow the practice at most state agencies and within the SUNY system as part of Cuomo's state budget request.

Source: Times Union