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Re:Mass Timber Is Great, but It Will Not Solve the Housing S... by 0xB31B1B on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @06:01PM (#39698117)
Those amenities are rarely used in North America. The problem is zoning, fire, and building codes make it impractical to build a bunch of 2.2k square foot units instead of the current mix of 500, 700 and 900 square foot units. Double stairway requirements are a big onerous regulation, especially when we already mandate sprinklers. What we need for families are more developments like the interwar upper west side in NYC, 4 bedrooms, natural light, bigger than 1.5k square feet, single stairway.
Re:Mass Timber Is Great, but It Will Not Solve the Housing S... by foxyv on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @06:17PM (#39698254)
Double stairways and building code requirements don't seem terribly onerous to me. However, the parking minimums and traffic flow requirements do. In Dallas, each 500 square feet of a unit is required to have a parking space... A parking space takes up 300 square feet on average. This means your apartments are at LEAST 3/5 parking.

This means you get complexes like this one where it's more parking lot than housing and that land is VERY expensive.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bridgeport+Apartments/@32....

Re:Mass Timber Is Great, but It Will Not Solve the Housing S... by bluGill on Wednesday March 13, 2024 @06:49PM (#39698529)
The double stair means there is no practical way to make a four bedroom. try doing a layout and you discover you have a lot of space that isn't useful. (bedrooms require a window)