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Comment by refurb | Hacker News Reader

A lot that big can accommodate 20+ units? No.

I’ve seen duplexes on lots that size but you’re looking at a 4 story building (2 floors + 2 floors). And even then it’s tight.

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yes. such buildings literally blanket my neighborhood. lot (and block) sizes in the US are huge for urban development.

Please share an example. I'm curious now. I've never seen 20 units built on a 25 ft wide plot.

The standard NYC lot is 20x100 (some a little bigger, some a little smaller). The prewar walkup rowhouses that blanket the city fill the lot basically entirely, and can easily fit 20 units (one-bedrooms or studios) in dense/expensive areas. I lived in one up until recently -- 5 stories, 4 one-bedroom apartments per floor. The rowhouse schema is very flexible: in outer boroughs they can be single family, while in Manhattan they are endlessly subdivided. For examples of the type see:

https://urbanomnibus.net/2016/04/201604typecast-the-row-hous...

Oh I see. Typically a fourplex is four, multi-room homes in a single building. In San Francisco there are plenty of duplexes, two, single floor homes with a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Maybe 900 sq ft. That fits on the typical lot and doesn’t require climbing 4 flights of stairs.

The buildings with more than 2 or 3 units tends to be on double or triple lots.

Sure I could see fitting 20 studios in a lot that size but SF needs a variety of housing. Housing for families, etc. Studios or even 1 beds won’t fit the need.

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