The technical and manufacturing problems that led to an ongoing legal duel between contractor Skanska USA and its former partner Forest City Ratner are laid bare in a 146 page letter from Skanska’s co-chief operating officer Richard Kennedy.
As CM reported last month, work on the $117m, 32 storey modular B2 tower has been halted since the contractor and its erstwhile partner each filed lawsuits against the other on the same day in August. It is understood that Skanska is seeking $50m in damages.
Skanska’s letter, lodged with the court as part of the legal process, was discovered by New York journalist Norman Oder, who blogged about it here.
“It is impossible to predict that the building when completed will perform as designed; and in particular, it is impossible to predict that the curtain wall joints will be and, over time, will remain effective barriers to the passage of air and water. …..In simple terms, no one knows if the building is going to leak.”
The letter contains new details about the technical problems faced by Skanska and FCS Modular, the joint venture company it established to manufacture the modular units based on designs and “intellectual property” from Forest City Ratner.
These include insufficient tolerances that left the modules out of alignment once they were stacked, and the fact that the offsite assembly yard was too small to allow teams to work on the modules efficiently.
As a result, producing each new floor took up to seven weeks, instead of the 7 days predicted.
Oder points out that B2, which broke ground in December 2012, was originally said to take 20 months, meaning it should now be complete. The delivery date was extended to December 2014 and then Q4 2015, which would bring the innovative system into line with a conventionally-built scheme.
Kennedy’s letter includes a warning that the finished building might not be watertight. “It is impossible to predict that the building when completed will perform as designed; and in particular, it is impossible to predict that the curtain wall joints will be and, over time, will remain effective barriers to the passage of air and water. …..In simple terms, no one knows if the building is going to leak.”
He also wrote that the steel frames used in the project “call for tighter-than-industry-standard tolerances in the fabrication shop and in the field erection,” so the exterior curtain wall panels will fit and create a weather seal.
Large parts of the cost overruns, the letter says, derive from the difficulty erection crews at the B2 site have had in “bringing the module columns as close to specified alignments as possible.”
Skanska also blames Forest City for the decision to locate the offsite assembly plant at Brooklyn Navy Yard, saying it was not ready on time and not effective for construction, although Forest City apparently says it did not take that decision.
According to Skanska, the lack of space around the modules required the operations team to move material multiple times, and made concurrent work impossible.
Skanska’s letter says “it was, and still is, completely unrealistic to expect the factory workers to possess the skills necessary to perform all of the various tasks.”
The letter also raises questions about the adequacy of a prototype tower, built in 2012, and overseen by architects ShoP and consultant Arup.
Forest City Ratner is vigorously pressing its own case, arguing that the difficulties experienced by Skanska were down to its mismanagement and numerous changes of personnel.
Its lawsuit charges Skanska with “gross incompetence” causing delays and cost overruns. “Skanska has stumbled through every step of the Project, and has repeatedly and routinely failed to meet any self-imposed or contractual deadlines, goals, or targets,” Forest City has said.
