NEW YORK CITY—Forest City Ratner Cos. is taking Skanska USA Building, Inc. to court. The developer is suing the contractor for “Skanska's multiple failures and missteps as the construction manager” for B2 BKLYN, the planned first modular building at Pacific Park Brooklyn (formerly Atlantic Yards). The claim comes on the heels of Skanska stopping work on the project last week after its dispute with FCR reached an impasse.
Filed in New York State Supreme Court, the legal filing seeks damages and declaratory relief from Skanska. The suit alleges that Skanska “lacked the skill, experience and diligence to complete the project in accordance with the promised schedule and price.”
As a result of the delays, according to the lawsuit, FCR's construction lender temporarily stopped advancing funds on its loan and the developer wound up funding the project from its own coffers. The company is asking the court for repayment both of damages it has incurred as well as those it will incur in the future.
Says FCRC president and CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, “Our priority is to reopen our factory and put the employees that Skanska wrongfully furloughed back to work so we can resume construction on B2. Skanska's unilateral action has barred construction from continuing, and this lawsuit is the first of many steps we intend to take to get this building moving again.”
Skanska AB, the parent company of Skanska USA Building, has also filed suit, according to Bloomberg, claiming Forest City changed construction plans for the tower in violation of a contract. Skanska did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The dispute has no impact on the three building starts Forest City Ratner announced earlier this year at Pacific Park, the company notes. Further, Forest City's partner in those buildings – Greenland USA – is not involved in the construction of B2 and is not a party to this dispute.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
