Building multifamily ground up

[Jeffrey Fawaz]

Hey guys good morning,

I’m looking to build multifamily ground up.

It would be in houston, TX.

Can you tell me what is the minimum land needed to be able to meet parking and storm detention/retention requirements, for a 50 to 100 unit apartment complex?

Would you recommend going 4,5,6 stories high to minimize land requirement ?

How many stories can you build with wood frame construction ?

Any and all information will be greatly appreciated and very helpful.

Thank you,

[Greg Dickerson]

@Jeffrey Fawaz Although Houston has no zoning restrictions or requirements they do have parking, stormwater and building code requirements so you should check with the building department for specific requirements.

Generally you can only go up to six stories and 85 foot for wood framed construction. There are some exceptions but its more cost effective to stay 6 or less as diminishing returns start to come into play.

Generally you will need 1-2 parks per unit in multifamily depending on location and bedroom count. If you can I would go with 1 park per bedroom or minimum 2 per unit for 1,2 and 3 bdrm. to be conservative.

If you do the math and build 3-4 stories you will need at least an acre to do 50 units maybe more if you have on site waste water retention. 2 stories may require a couple of acres.

You will also need to add land if you have amenities like a pool, playground dog park etc.