Crain's: DOB Commissioner LiMandri touting FCR's modular plan

Last November New York City Department of Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri was endorsing modular construction, saying, "you also have to figure out how to build bigger, and better, and modular."

And, according to today's Crain's Insider, Modular Construction’s Savings, he's still saying that, with specific reference to Atlantic Yards:

If Forest City Ratner succeeds in its effort to build modular housing for Atlantic Yards off-site, the work could probably be done more efficiently, but the greatest savings would come from wages. Off-site workers cost union builders $36 an hour versus $90 for on-site labor. Total project savings might be about 20%. Just one local firm, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, constructs housing units off-site but only for low-scale buildings, and adds the façade in the field. Forest City plans to do high-rises, including façades, in factories. Its unions’ approval is needed. City Buildings Commissioner Bob LiMandri has been touting the proposal around town. Supporters say it would reduce truck traffic, debris and noise at construction sites as well as improve work quality.

The flip side? Not only would Atlantic Yards workers earn much less (definitely), and they would be fewer in number (probably), but also the projected tax revenues generated by the project would decline.