Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

So, remember FullStack Modular, the company that succeeded took over the ill-fated factory business-- FC+S Modular, then FC Modular--set up to build modules for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, which, after problems in building the B2 (461 Dean) project, original project developer Forest City ultimately sold to its former executive Roger Krulak? (Note: the company was originally called Full Stack Modular, but at some point became FullStack Modular.) As I observed  in June 2017, FullStack's announcement of a $6 million investment struck me as substantial but also not huge in terms of being used to "scale production" at the modular factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.  Well, they've since found greener pastures, relocating in 2023 to just outside New Haven, Conn., and last year establishing another factory outside Los Angeles, as described below. The projects they describe conform to Krulak's October 2016  prediction  (in FastCo.Design) that they wouldn't aim as tall...

From The Real Deal, 7/10/20,  Harry Macklowe, Aby Rosen and Joe Sitt among 6,500+ developers, landlords who got PPP bucks : With the free market in free fall, real estate bigwigs turned to Uncle Sam.  Harry Macklowe, Aby Rosen and the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese developer Greenland were among the thousands of recipients of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. The program, which provides forgivable loans so companies can keep employees on payroll, has been extended for a third time. Developers and landlords were excluded from the program, but some used loopholes — such as applying through related business arms such as property management — to access the funds.  All told, more than 6,500 landlords, developers, real estate investment firms and private equity investors in the U.S. received the loans, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of SBA data.  The article lists "Greenland USA, the developer behind Metropolis in Los Angeles and m...

After five-and-a-half years of legal jousting over the ill-fated Brooklyn tower once said to revolutionize modular construction, Forest City Ratner Companies and Skanska USA Building in April agreed to settle their three lawsuits, state court records show . B2 under construction, 2015. Photo: Norman Oder The  confidential  settlement leaves murky the degrees of fault, and financial responsibility, for tens of millions of dollars in damages and losses over 461 Dean (B2), the first tower in the 15-tower project originally called Atlantic Yards. Launched in 2012 with ambitious, ultimately unfounded, claims about saving time and money, the 363-unit tower flanking the Barclays Center suffered leaks and delays before finally opening in 2016. Skanska, which served as general contractor for the building and also ran the jointly owned modular factory at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, blamed Forest City for inadequate design for the world’s tallest (as of then) modular tower. Fo...

Scroll down to see update regarding officials considering policy change. Virus Rules Let Construction Workers Keep Building Luxury Towers , the New York Times reported yesterday, making the crucial point that such workers can't practice "social distancing" and often share portable toilets that rarely have soap or hand sanitizer. The lead photo, as shown in the screenshot, depicts no social distancing at the 18 Sixth Avenue worksite in Brooklyn, at the northeast flank of the Barclays Center. (The location is not specified in the article, and Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is not mentioned. But it's fairly clear to anyone who knows the view looking north from Sixth Avenue and Pacific Street.) Is it essential construction? The 859-unit building  is not purely a luxury tower. It will have 258 (30%) affordable units, with the affordability level as of now unclear. It's due in 2022. The article offers some harsh quotes: “They are exposing themselves in groups to t...