Additions?
Hi everyone, My husband and I are new to NY, and Very new homeowners. We just bought a 3-family brownstone in Bed Stuy. Just daydreaming at this point, but I was wondering if anyone knows if it’s possible and legal to add another story to the house? I assume there will be zoning issues, and…
Hi everyone,
My husband and I are new to NY, and Very new homeowners. We just bought a 3-family brownstone in Bed Stuy. Just daydreaming at this point, but I was wondering if anyone knows if it’s possible and legal to add another story to the house? I assume there will be zoning issues, and it’s a historic district, and possible structural issues. I’m not even sure where to begin to look into this…
Thank you!
Wow, thank you everyone for the detailed guidance! We’re still spinning from the complicated closing process…Wish I had known about this site back then!
First of all you need a survey of the existing property and take it to a zoning expert or architect to evaluate all zoning requirements which may either be very simple or very complicated.
People will always bring from property shark and from assumptions for determination which has a 98% success rate of miscalculated analysis so if you are really in to it go get one. The title survey will usually suffice for original determination before getting a 100% complete analysis which any lender will require so you wouldn’t need to shell out some greenies for that at the moment.
I had someone do a preliminary evaluation for free and a small fee for detail report. I don’t have his contact info now but if you send me an email to whocan82@gmail.com I’ll respond when I find it.
If you’re unfamiliar with NY zoning, I would definitely suggest calling an architect or expediter to discuss the process. Zoning can be very complicated with a lot of if-and-or-buts to make it even more opaque.
That said, most of the row-houses in that area have the ability to add square footage without exceeding zoning and height limits.
As for Landmarks, well they can be pretty tough to deal with. We’ve recently gotten a few big projects through landmarks in Clinton Hill and Fort Greene, and have developed a relationship there, but it can be a lot of work. The big questions will be how visible the addition is from the street, and how different it will be from its neighbors.
Jim Hill, RA, LEED AP
Urban Pioneering Architecture
The rite way to proceed is to have a licensed architect provide you with a zoning analysis, then you will know what your feasability is to add, if any.
It is all a matter of the zoning. Keep in mind that a cellar (more than 1/2 in the gound does not count to the FAR.
1) find the zoning map that contains your property: http://nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/zone/zmf.shtml
2) open the map and find the zoning code for your property (look for the big codes on the zones: eg R6 or R5)
3) with zoning code, look for the FAR of your lot (ratio between the size of your lot and the buildable square footage) here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/zone/zh_resdistricts.shtml
4) If your building size is less than the allowable buildable square feet, look for other restrictions (height is one, but there are plenty more)
50 If all checks out, hire a zoning specialist and have a zoning evaluation done ($1000 and up). The report will tell you exactly how many more square feet you can build. Chris Fritz 212 221 7221 is an architect specialized in zoning evaluations.
6) if zoning evaluation is positive, hire an architect to file with the DOB