The former developers of the Parkade site redevelopment in Manchester on Tuesday filed a suit against the town, alleging they were wrongfully terminated from the project, according to court records.
Manchester Parkade 1 LLC, the company picked in 2019 to redevelop the former Parkade site on Broad Street, filed the suit in Hartford Superior Court alleging town officials breached a development agreement for the project when the town announced in January it was nixing the partnership.
Manchester officials are once again looking for developers for the former Parkade property on Broad Street and have issued a request-for-proposal for the site.
Almost two months after nixing a deal with Easton-based Manchester Parkade 1, the developer picked two years ago to lead a $140 million mixed-use project at the site, the town has issued another RFP for the 23.2-acre property.
Attorneys for the town of Manchester and the former developers of the Parkade site are locked in disagreement over whether a deal between the two sides is null and void.
Developer Michael Licamele, who is a principal of the Easton-based Manchester Parkade 1 LLC, the Parkade’s former developer, said he and his partner, Harry Freeman, would fight the town’s recent decision to pull the plug on negotiations for redevelopment of the Broad Street property that once held a retail plaza.
Developers that Manchester officials removed recently from the planned revival of the Manchester Parkade say their deal with the town is not null and void as the town claims.
More than two years after picking the developer to revitalize a section of Broad Street, Manchester officials announced this week they have ceased its partnership with Manchester Parkade 1.
The massive project on the former parkade site was expected to break ground on initial construction this spring, but town officials will now go back to the drawing board after citing numerous delays and an unclear timeline as reasons for moving on from the Easton-based developer.