New Apartment building

[Sid N.]

I am eyeing a lot in east bay area to build a multi family on a busy street .  the lot is 3000 sq ft and building can go upto 65 ft in height .

how do I know what sq footage can i build ?  Also being in down town i am assuming the utilities would not much much of the cost .

Asking the experts here .. any other warning signs I should be checking so that i don't get surprised after i purchase ? 

[Justin R.]

@Sid N. I'm doing two new construction multi-family projects in my neck of the woods at the moment, and @Andrew Johnson isn't being hyperbolic.  There are City specifics that you'll either need to (A) learn or (B) pay someone to know for you, but much of the cost and complexity and time comes from the CA-wide plumbing, fire, mechanical, and other codes.  It's not impossible to work through, but it's expensive and time-consuming for any commercial (3+ attached units) property.

I don't even know where to start on providing advice other than to say ... the more of these I do, the more shocked I am at my naivety when I started.  In reality, the reason I made it to this point is because I started building in a rising market - property appreciation has saved me from my sins, so to speak.

New construction beyond an SFR or duplex isn't for the faint of heart. As one data point, one of my projects involves construction of 4 homes on an existing urban lot already zoned for 4 dwelling units. I'm 15 months and $250k+ in already, and there hasn't been a shovel in the ground. The numbers will work out fine, but that just illustrates why there's a difference in value between land and a shovel-ready project... and why the details of the lot (and surrounding infrastructure) really, really matter when doing stuff like this.