Developer Bruce Ratner and a rendering of the Atlantic Yards building (credit: Shop Architects)

Developer Bruce Ratner unveiled the design this morning for what may be the world’s tallest prefabricated steel structure, the New York Times reported, a 32-story residential building slated for Atlantic Yards next year.

Ratner has invested two years in the study of modular construction, a technique which is untested at this height. If he goes ahead with the plans, he could cut construction costs by as much as 25 percent, the Times said. Construction is slated to begin on the building in early 2012.

The use of modular technology would mean 60 percent of the construction would take place in a factory, where approximately 1,000 steel-frame modules would be made. The modules would then be transported to the site, where they’d be fitted together. [more]

Seven construction workers will sue developer Bruce Ratner today, the New York Daily News reported, claiming he failed to deliver on jobs he promised them at Atlantic Yards in an effort to gain community approval for the controversial project.

The workers say they enrolled in Ratner’s training program for construction workers on the project, weren’t fully compensated for the work they performed during the training and afterwards were offered jobs in maintenance, a nearby health club and a McDonald’s.

James Caldwell, the head of one of the training programs bankrolled by Ratner and a defendant in the suit filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, said the trainees were never guaranteed construction work [more]

Developer Bruce Ratner and a rendering of the exhibition by ArtBridge

Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project has not always been popular among Brooklynites. Perhaps trying to soften the image of the development, his company Forest City Ratner has now teamed up with a non-profit arts organization to bring something other than construction noise to the neighborhood.

The Chelsea-based non-profit, ArtBridge, is set to transform 2,500 feet of construction fencing at the perimeter of the Atlantic Yards site into an open air art gallery, it announced today.

ArtBridge, which is best known for transforming construction sites such as at London Terrace in Chelsea into public exhibition space for local artists, will bring “Works in Progress,” an exhibit of the works of 20 Brooklyn artists to the site starting Oct. 20 and running through March, 2012. – Katherine Clarke [more]

Promised to be a driver of the Park Slope, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill economy, the Atlantic Yards construction project has retail landlords salivating but is leaving developers and residents wary, the New York Post reported.

The Barclays Center, which will open next September, is driving up retail rents in the area. Many landlords have allowed leases to expire and spaces to stay vacant in recent years in anticipation of higher rents sure to come with the new arena. Retail rents in the area range from $85 to $175 per square foot, with the high-end marking the top of Brooklyn pricing. [more]

One of the main opponents of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yard’s project is now under fire himself for construction work he plans to do his Park Slope home, the New York Daily News reported.

Daniel Goldstein, co-founder of the activist group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, got a $3 million settlement from Ratner to move out his Prospect Heights condominium last year. But since then, he has bought a new house in Park Slope for $812,000. His new neighbor, Kathryn Roake, said that his plans for an 18-foot, three-story addition to the back of his building will block the light to her fruit and vegetable garden. [more]

Click image to watch the video
Bruce Ratner, chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner, appeared on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” (see video
on the jump) to discuss the New York real estate market and, of course, his
Atlantic Yards project. The developer said that if the economy tanks
again, and experiences a double dip the city would not come out as
cleanly as it did the first time around. The widespread layoffs being
announced by banks combined with existing budget woes would strain the
city. However, because the city’s economy is more diversified than it
was even five years ago, he still believes it would fare better than
most other markets. [more]

Empire State Development Corporation and Forest City Ratner Companies have served notice that they intend to fight a July court decision ordering further environmental review of the Atlantic Yards project, Brooklyn Speaks, a civic organization that has for a long time been opposed to the development, announced today.

In July, a Supreme Court judge ruled that the project was subject to another environmental review, as the construction timeline for the second phase of the project was extended to 25 years.

The filing of the appeal by FCRC and ESDC delays ESDC’s obligation to comply with the court order, Brooklyn Speaks said, thus delaying changes to the Atlantic Yards plan that would accelerate the delivery of affordable housing and jobs to the area. – Katherine Clarke [more]

Atlantic Yards and Forest City CEO Bruce Ratner

Forest City Ratner has filed its first application with the Department
of Buildings for its planned construction of a residential tower at
Atlantic Yards, Brownstoner reported. The permit seeks to
build a 33-story, 368-unit tower at Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street,
right next to the  arena. Half of the building’s units will be
affordable housing. According to Brownstoner, it is not yet clear if
the tower, designed by SHoP architects, will be prefabricated. SHoP’s website does not yet show any renderings for the site. [Brownstoner]  [more]

Chinese banks have quietly invested more than $1 billion into New York real estate in the past year, the New York Times reported, as investors pick up luxury apartments and get involved with commercial and residential projects in an effort to diversify their holdings and develop international business relationships.

In the last 12 months, Chinese companies have inked significant leases at the Empire State Building, at 1 World Trade Center, and invested heavily — around $249 million — in Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards. Bank of China also lent $800 million in late 2010 to refinance a building on Park Avenue, the Times said, and doled out $250 million to refinance an office tower at 3 Columbus Circle.

All of these investments seem to pass by without much press attention.  ”It’s truly amazing how much they’ve been able to do without being highlighted in public,” said Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics. [more]

A Brooklyn pastor and his family are out of money after their real estate deal with a developer fell apart, the New York Daily News reported. Emmanuel Obi and his wife sold Kings Court Banquet Hall, an event space at 816-18 Dean Street to Borough Park-based firm Dean Developers in August 2004 for two completed condominium units in the 14-unit building, or an additional $600,000 if they were not finished after two years. After the sales agreement, Dean Developers paid the Obis $300,000 and took out a $2.8 million construction loan to finance the 14-unit building. But Dean Developers, led by Benjamin Mutzen, did not make mortgage payments. [more]