You Can’t Build That Here - 1703 Broadway
For our tenth entry in our “You Can’t Build That Here!” series, we hop on the T from last entry’s adventure in Allegheny Center to today’s destination in Beechview.
Each entry in this series highlights a currently existing building that would be illegal to build under the existing zoning code. The purpose is to highlight how flawed our zoning code is.
Today, we’re looking at 1703 Broadway Ave - a 12 unit, 3 story apartment building. While none of the units are currently for rent, Unit 101 was on the market 2 years ago for $800 a month - below the average rent for a 1 bedroom in Beechview.
This brick building sits on a triangular shaped lot where Realty Ave merges into Broadway, on the hill overlooking Beechview’s main commercial street. It is three stories tall, approximately 7,860 square feet, and has 12 units - 3 two-bedroom units, 5 one-bedroom, and 4 studios.
I am unable to find the history of when it was built, but it existed on the 1923 map, predating most of the city’s zoning ordinances.
The lot it sits on is parcel 35-K-192 - which is 9,020 square feet and is zoned Single-Unit Detached Residential, High Density (R1D-H).
The building has no setback from Broadway Ave, a 10 ft setback from Realty Ave, and is attached to the multi-unit apartment building next door, 1705 Broadway Ave. It also has no off street parking.
So, readers, you know the drill:
Why couldn’t this be built today?
First, it’s multifamily in a Single Unit Residential - which means it’s not permitted.
Second, it is attached to the neighboring building (shares an abutting wall) while in a Detached zone.
Third, it lacks the 15 ft front and rear setbacks.
Fourth, it lacks the 12 units of off street parking required.
Since the minimum lot size in a High Density zone is 1,800 square feet, if this building was torn down today and replaced with the maximum number of homes that could fit, it would only fit 5 single family homes instead of the 12 units that currently exist there. Though how you would squeeze them onto that triangular lot is beyond me.
As we emphasize with every entry, we need to reform the zoning code. In this specific case, we need to allow multifamily buildings in all residential districts, we need to allow attached housing (Councilman Bobby Wilson’s recent bill will allow attached single family homes by right citywide, but it doesn’t extend to multi-family buildings. It’s a step in the right direction but it does not go far enough.), we need to get rid of setback requirements, and we need to abolish parking minimums.
If we don’t enact these reforms, we’re just continuing to say “You can’t build that here!”
By Jack Billings with contributions by Amy Zaiss and Nicholas Rizzio.
