Modular snag: Forest City admits B2 tower will be one year late, now expected to finish in fourth quarter of 2015

The construction pace of B2, the world's tallest modular tower, has been well below that needed to open by the target date of December 2014, as I've steadily reported.

Late yesterday developer Forest City Enterprises made it official, acknowledging in a brief report to the Securities and Exchange Commission that the building will open in December 2015, one year late.

That coincides with a New York Times report today that the new partner, the Greenland Group, aims to start three towers using conventional construction. (Here's my analysis of that article.)

From SEC report

That's a significant delay. Rather than saving time for Forest City Ratner and getting a building done in some 18 months, modular construction, at least in its first iteration, means a longer buildout than conventional construction: three years, rather than two.

It also shows that Forest City Ratner, ever capable of generating publicity for its innovative modular plan, hasn't yet made it work. Think about all the publications who were invited in to report about the inevitable future, including, most recently, Forbes (my critique). Other coverage came from Fast Company, Gizmodo, Brownstoner, and Gothamist.