Manhattan Floor Area Ratio

In medium and high density commercial districts plazas pedestrian amenities and by special permit subway improvements can generate an increase in the maximum commercial far.

Manhattan floor area ratio.

Let s learn the concept of building coverage ratio or floor area ratio to understand how. Floor area ratio the ratio of the total building floor area to the lot area is a common measurement system used to regulated the density of buildings. For example a 10 story building constructed on the entire lot would have a far of 10 as would a 20 story building on half the lot. What is floor area ratio calculation formula.

The floor area ratio of a 1 000 square foot building with one story situated on a 4 000 square foot lot would be 0 25x. Far is the reason why buildings with the same size lot but in different zoning districts can be drastically different in size. Manhattan core the manhattan core extends from the southern tip of manhattan at the battery to west 110th street on the west side and east 96th street on the east side. The preservation subdistrict is not eligible for any floor area bonuses and its base floor area ratio far is lower than elsewhere in the special district in order to limit development on certain side streets.

The floor area ratio is the principal bulk regulation controlling the size of buildings. What does far signify. The floor area ratio is the deciding factor in finding out the maximum buildable floor area. Most cities use floor area ratio far as part of their zoning regulations.

The floor area ratios are set forth by nyc planning in the zoning resolution zoning code. The floor area ratio far for a c4 1 district for example is 1 0 while the far for a c4 7 district is 10 0. Far is the ratio of total building floor area to the area of its zoning lot. The floor area ratio far in r7a districts is 4 0.

Above a base height of 40 to 65 feet or 75 feet if providing a qualifying ground floor the building must set back to a depth of 10 feet on a wide street and 15 feet on a narrow street before rising to a maximum height of 80 feet or 85 feet if providing a qualifying ground floor. In manhattan we identified the area north of grand central station. The mandatoryquality housing bulk regulations encourage new six story apartment buildings. One key measure of structural density is the floor area ratio far which is the ratio of total usable floor space to the size of the plot.

A floor area bonus for public plazas subway station improvements or theater rehabilitation is available in some subdistricts.