Bridgeport development suit advances

A state judge in Waterbury ruled a trial can proceed next February for a developer”™s $70 million lawsuit against the city of Bridgeport.

Alex Conroy accuses former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim and other city officials of taking bribes in 1998 to deny him development rights for the city”™s Steel Point waterfront parcel, instead awarding them to another developer.

Ganim is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a 2003 conviction on federal corruption charges.

A separate company called Midtown Equities L.L.C. is now the lead developer for the $1.2 billion project. Earlier this month, the firm protested a Bridgeport City Council labor “peace” condition to the project, saying it never would have taken on the project if it knew in advance it would have to line up approvals from labor unions.