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229 Beach 20 Street zoning and development potential

229 Beach 20 Street, Queens 11691 is a 92,900 square foot lot zoned R5. RunEnvelope’s engine finds an as-of-right scheme with homes of 185,800 sf (Residential + Community Facility), against 40,272 sf built on the lot today.

The lot

BBL
4-15780-0075
Block / lot
15780 / 75
Community district
Queens Community District 14
Zoning
R5
Lot area
92,900 sf
Frontage x depth
388 ft x 252 ft
Lot type
Inside
Current use
Commercial and office
Built today
40,272 sf, 1 floor
Year built
1952
Built FAR
0.43

Permitted floor area against what is built

Built on the lot today40,272 sf
Largest scheme with homes: Residential + Community Facility185,800 sf

That leaves 145,528 sf more floor area than stands here now, if the existing building were replaced.

City Planning’s PLUTO file lists a residential FAR of 1.50 for this lot, which at 92,900 sf of land is 139,350 sf. The engine’s largest residential-only scheme without an affordability obligation (Max Apartments) holds 139,350 sf, close to that simple multiplication.

Quality Housing height limit in R5 on a narrow street: 45 ft. From the district’s rule set.

  • Narrow street frontage
  • FRESH food store zone
  • Coastal zone
  • Irregular lot shape

Development scenarios

The largest 6 as-of-right schemes RunEnvelope’s engine produced for this lot, by zoning floor area. A full study also models the building itself: floor plates, heights, setbacks, unit mix and parking.

SchemeTypeFloor areaFARHomes
Residential + Community FacilityMixed use with homes185,8002.00134
Community FacilityCommunity facility185,8002.00None
Commercial OverlayMixed use with homes183,9421.98119
Max ApartmentsHousing139,3501.50205
Max Residential (Standard Housing) (Parking Waiver: 10 units)Housing139,3501.5010
Max CommercialCommercial96,1201.03None

Floor area is zoning floor area in square feet. Highlighted: the largest scheme with homes. Income-restricted schemes (Universal Affordability Preference, AIRS senior housing) require a share or all of the homes to be affordable. Shared housing counts rooms, not apartments. Schemes that need a landmark transfer of development rights, the FRESH food store bonus or a stack of every program are left off this page; the full study shows them.

What these numbers are

As-of-right only: what the Zoning Resolution allows without a variance, special permit or rezoning. Computed by RunEnvelope’s zoning engine on October 24, 2026 from PLUTO 26v2 lot data, in screening mode: the engine uses the City’s recorded lot area and dimensions, not a surveyed lot outline.

This is not a professional opinion, an appraisal or a statement that anything will or should be built here. Existing tenants, leases and the owner’s plans are not part of it.

What a full study checks

  • ■The actual lot outline, street frontages and yards, not PLUTO's recorded dimensions
  • ■Easements, restrictive declarations and zoning lot agreements on record
  • ■Landmark, waterfront and flood rules that apply to the specific building
  • ■Height, setback and floor-by-floor massing, with floor plans
  • ■Unit count, parking and the affordability program terms

Why this lot has a page: we publish pages only for lots that clear a set of data quality and headroom tests.

This is the screening number. Get the study for 229 Beach 20 Street.

Run the full study