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229 Shepherd Avenue zoning and development potential

229 Shepherd Avenue, Brooklyn 11208 is a 20,653 square foot lot zoned R8A. RunEnvelope’s engine finds an as-of-right scheme with homes of 148,701 sf (AIRS Senior Housing (100% Affordable)), against 4,332 sf built on the lot today.

The lot

BBL
3-03958-0049
Block / lot
3958 / 49
Community district
Brooklyn Community District 5
Zoning
R8A
Lot area
20,653 sf
Frontage x depth
208 ft x 106 ft
Lot type
Inside
Current use
Commercial and office
Built today
4,332 sf, 1 floor
Year built
1957
Built FAR
0.21

Permitted floor area against what is built

Built on the lot today4,332 sf
Largest scheme with homes: AIRS Senior Housing (100% Affordable)148,701 sf

That leaves 144,369 sf more floor area than stands here now, if the existing building were replaced. The largest scheme with homes and no affordability obligation holds 134,243 sf (Residential + Community Facility).

City Planning’s PLUTO file lists a residential FAR of 6.02 for this lot, which at 20,653 sf of land is 124,331 sf. The engine’s largest residential-only scheme without an affordability obligation (Max Apartments) holds 124,331 sf, close to that simple multiplication.

Quality Housing height limit in R8A on a wide street: 125 ft (145 ft with the affordability preference). From the district’s rule set.

  • Wide street frontage
  • Mandatory Inclusionary Housing area
  • FRESH food store zone
  • E-designation on the lot
  • 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
AIRS Senior Housing (100% Affordable)Income-restricted housing148,7017.20184
Community FacilityCommunity facility134,2446.50None
Residential + Community FacilityMixed use with homes134,2436.50146
Max ApartmentsHousing124,3316.02183
Commercial OverlayMixed use with homes124,3316.02132
Shared Housing (SRO)Shared housing (rooms)123,5535.98422 rooms

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 Shepherd Avenue.

Run the full study