Video preview: Why is the air above Grand Central worth millions?
Added 2018-10-10 04:26:36 +0000 UTCThis video is scheduled for Thursday. Enjoy!
Comments
Great question! Buildings are regulated through the zoning code based on floors (floor to area ratios), overall maximum height, and setbacks, but not building volume in terms of cubic units. So it's easiest for developers, architects, and planners to think of the air space as floor space, not cubic units. This way, JP Morgan Chase can say, "Great, we have a 68,000 sqft lot, so buying 680,000 sqft will let us add ten stories to the building." There's an overall maximum height so they can't build floors that are 30' tall or something crazy like that. I hope that makes sense, but feel free to ask a follow up if I didn't explain it well enough.
City Beautiful
2018-10-10 15:42:23 +0000 UTCYou frequently mention the space above Grand Central in terms of square feet. How does that work in a three-dimensional space? Is it assumed that each square foot has a minimum height, or does it not really matter? I am a little bit confused on why cubic units are not used in this situation.
Alex
2018-10-10 05:45:53 +0000 UTC
