With B2 Less Than 1/3 Completed, Skanska Cancels Contract With Forest City Ratner

The future of B2, the first tower to break ground in the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project, is up in the air following a day in court between developer Forest City Ratner and construction company Skanska USA, according to Crain’s. The two entities have been publicly feuding since late August, filing breach of contract suits and countersuits and furloughing workers at Skanska’s Brooklyn Navy Yard facility.

A statement from Skanska’s Richard Kennedy noted his company had “little hope that Forest City would take responsibility for fixing the significant commercial and design issues” on B2, and could not continue to take on cost overruns reportedly around $50 million.

While Skanska is now off the hook as a contractor at the site, however, the company is still an operator of the factory that produced B2’s modular units until August 27. A judge ruled yesterday against FCR’s wishes that the factory would not simply be reopened, instead encouraging factory co-operator FC+Skanska Modular to meet on the topic and set terms going forward.

The modular building techniques used at B2 were supposed to be revolutionary for quick and cost effective building design in Brooklyn. The tower, with an initial completion date of July 25, 2014 and designed to rise 32 stories, is currently 10 stories tall.