Forest City Ratner spent nearly $3.5 million on research and development costs for its modular housing plan

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Developer Bruce Ratner is finding out that inventing new building techniques isn't cheap.

His company, Forest City Ratner Cos., spent $3.5 million on "research and development costs" for its plan to build housing towers out of pre-made pods at its $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, according to a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The official statement, from the 10-Q form:

$3,454,000 related to increased research and development costs for a modular construction project at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, New York

Well, that's a significant investment, and thus a sign that Ratner is serious about it. Then again, I still think that modular announcement last month was timed, in part, to pressure construction unions, and the first building may not be modular.