Fitting a 30,000 sf Athletic Club on a 21,000 sf Lot
A developer holds a 120 x 175 ft (21,000 sf) parcel in a C-2 district. The envelope limits are: FAR 1.5, maximum height 40 ft, front setback 15 ft, side setbacks 8 ft each, rear setback 20 ft, maximum lot coverage 60 percent, and a minimum 15 percent of lot area in landscaped open space. Parking is 1 space per 800 sf of gross floor area. The tenant is a 30,000 sf athletic club that includes a 4,000 sf group exercise studio, and its operations standard is 40 surface stalls. The property to the east is separately owned and developed to its own 8-ft side yard; the client wants full-height glass on that east face. Design starts Monday.
1. Test the 30,000 sf program against FAR, setbacks, coverage, and height. Which constraint actually governs, and how many stories do you need?
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Run each limit separately - do not assume FAR controls.
- FAR: 21,000 x 1.5 = 31,500 sf maximum. The program fits under FAR with 1,500 sf to spare.
- Setback footprint: (120 - 16) x (175 - 15 - 20) = 104 x 140 = 14,560 sf buildable rectangle.
- Lot coverage: 60% x 21,000 = 12,600 sf - this governs, not the setback rectangle.
- Stories: 30,000 / 12,600 = 2.4, so three stories at roughly 10,000 sf each.
- Height: 40 ft for three stories leaves about 13.3 ft per floor including structure and mech. That is workable but tight, and it is the real risk on this site.
Judgment call: confirm in writing how the code measures height (to the mean roof vs. highest point, and whether a parapet up to 42 in. is excluded). A three-story scheme at 13 ft floor-to-floor plus a 3-ft parapet is right at 42 ft, and the mech screen will push you over. Either drop to 12 ft floor-to-floor or confirm the parapet exclusion before the massing is locked.
2. Does the required parking fit? Give the numbers and the realistic options.
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No - and it is off by a wide margin.
- Required: 30,000 / 800 = 37.5, so 38 stalls.
- Land needed: at roughly 350 sf per stall including drive aisle, 38 stalls need about 13,300 sf.
- Land available: 21,000 - 10,000 building - 3,150 required open space = 7,850 sf, about 22 stalls.
The gap is roughly 5,400 sf, or 16 stalls. FAR is not the problem; parking is.
Options, in order:
- Reduce the program to about 18,000 sf - 23 stalls required against roughly 25 that fit. This is the only option that solves it internally.
- Shared parking with the municipal lot across the street if the code permits off-site stalls within a defined radius - the club's peak (5-9 p.m.) is the lot's off-peak.
- A variance - a weak case, because the applicant chose a program the site cannot serve.
A trap to resolve early: if the 4,000 sf studio is classified as assembly rather than business, parking may be calculated from occupant load (e.g., 1 per 3 or 4 occupants), which could double the requirement. Get a written zoning determination before the site plan is drawn.
3. The client insists on a full-height glass east facade looking over the 8-ft side yard. What do you advise?
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Advise that it is both regulated and economically fragile - and propose a middle path.
Regulatory: with a fire separation distance of about 8 ft, unprotected openings are typically limited to roughly 25 percent of the wall area (verify against the edition in force - the step between the 5-10 ft band and the 10-15 ft band is steep). A true curtain wall across the whole face will not pass without a rated, protected assembly.
Practical: the neighbor owns that side yard and can build out to their own setback - or sell to someone who will. The view is not an asset the client controls. Designing the building's identity around a view over someone else's land is a business risk, not just a code one.
Recommendation:
- Treat the east wall as a mostly solid, well-insulated wall with a band of protected or rated glazing at 25 percent of the area for daylight.
- Put the client's transparency budget where it is durable: the north facade for even light, and the street facade for identity.
- Offer to pursue an aviation/easement or light-and-air agreement with the neighbor only if the client wants to pay for it - and tell them it rarely survives a sale.