How many 1 and 2 bedroom units in a 5 story building can you fit in a quarter acre of land?

Question

Building a new apartment building. Is there a guide to high density housing which shows how many units you can fit into a 1/4 acre property, 5 stories in height?

Beside local zoning ordinances, are there any examples of the maximum number of units either by architect or building?

Answer 1

Not many. 1/4 acre isn't much land. How many you can fit will depend upon local zoning laws. Many require a certain amount of separation between the building's walls and the property lines and this can severely affect the allowable footprint for the building. You might need to reserve as much as half of the total land area for parking and there may be restrictions on vehicles parked within a certain distance of any occupied structures.

The size of the units will have a major impact. The floorspace required for common areas such as elevators, stairwells, vestibules, laundry rooms, equipment rooms and utility risers can eat into as much as 1/2 of the available footprint and will further limit the number of units.

Without knowing all of the zoning requirements and the architectural design goals it's not possible to give a meaningful number.

Answer 2

Yes there are guides--most cities/towns have very specific zoning laws that regulate how many units, unit sizes, etc that can be built. It depends on the zoning area your building is in now too--plus some places have very strict laws about parking-you should also look into whether or not you need to provide parking per unit--because if you do--that may affect how many units you can put in. All this stuff can be answered by your local planning office though--so you should definitely talk to someone there.

Answer 3

The guide is your local zoning so contact your city gov't and find out the zoning for the area you want to build on.

Answer 4

Contact the planning department of the city you want to build and and they will tell you exactly what you need to know.