condo conversion, the 100 years building's FAR is over zoning FAR

[Xiaowen Yang]

Hi Everyone, I am trying to buy a 100 years old property in Boston and do a condo conversion. But the property's FAR is way over current zoning code. In that case, can we still do condo conversion or has to get rid of some sqft and follow the current zoning code? 

Thanks

[Nick Foundas]

I have not dealt with Boston but in my opinion the use is still multi family, you arent really changing the zoning. In terms of FAR, you should be grandfathered in and shouldnt have to reduce sq footage. If you were tearing the house down and building new construction then you would need to follow current code. Again I'm not 100% certain if this is the case for Boston but a meeting with the City is still the best bet to get a definitive answer.