Community Corner
Ratner Still Wants Cheaper Prefab Towers at Atlantic Yards
The developer is still looking into modular construction as a way to speed construction and save money.
With the Atlantic Yards project running behind schedule, developer Forest City Ratner is still looking at modular construction, or prefabricated buildings, as a way to speed things up and cut costs, according to last week’s report in the New York Observer.
The interest began when Bruce Ratner saw a YouTube video of a 15-story hotel in China being erected in two days.
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal crunched some numbers and found that Forest City Ratner has spent $3.5 million on research and development for this type of prefab construction. The Observer dug that bit up, too, and wondered how Ratner plans on cutting costs by spending more money.
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Though the Observer is hesitant to accuse Ratner of using prefab , reporter Matt Chaban writes, “a few million could be but a drop in the bucket if it means bigger labor saving on the future of the site.”
A five percent savings on the $5 billion project through labor negotiations could mean about $250 million in savings, so even if the developer spends $50 million researching modular construction, Ratner will still be saving money, according to the report.
