Zoning & feasibility
Before you buy or build, we tell you what the site can hold: floor area, height, apartment count, parking and the affordable-housing options that add floor area.
- Zoning analysis
- Floor area & unit counts
- City of Yes, MIH, 485-x
Design + Planning · New York City
Residential buildings, from the first zoning check to approvals.
We design apartment buildings across New York City. Every project starts with one question: what can this site hold? We answer it early and clearly, then design a building that works for the owner and fits the block.
Proposed design
Services
One team from the lot to the permit
Massing & design
Buildings that use every square foot the zoning allows and still look like they belong in New York: classic facades, real amenities, efficient layouts.
- Massing studies
- Floor plans & amenities
- Facades & renderings
Drawings & approvals
Drawing sets prepared with a New York State licensed architect of record and coordinated with your engineers and expediter through the Department of Buildings.
- Drawing sets
- Consultant coordination
- Filed by the architect of record
Featured project
132 apartments on one mid-block lot in the Bronx
A 20-story mixed-income building planned under the city's new zoning. The base holds the street wall and steps back to the tower with a planted terrace. The ground floor is given to residents, and a classic stucco facade gives the building the calm rhythm of the city's older apartment houses.
| Lot area | 15,000 sf |
|---|---|
| Apartments | 132 |
| Height | 20 stories |
| Gross floor area | ±127,000 sf |
| Housing | Market-rate + affordable |
| Status | In design |
How it works
From an address to an approved building
- 01
Send the address
A message with the address or block and lot is enough to start.
- 02
Zoning check
We tell you what the site can hold: floor area, height and an apartment count.
- 03
Massing & design
We shape the building, lay out the apartments and design the facade.
- 04
Drawings & approvals
We prepare the drawings with the licensed architect of record, who files them with the Department of Buildings.
About
Founded by Motty Stern
Motty Stern
Founder · North Arrow Studio · New York City
North Arrow Studio is a design and planning studio in New York City, founded by Motty Stern.
Motty works directly with owners and developers on residential buildings across the city. Every project starts with the zoning, so the owner knows early what a lot can hold. From there the studio carries it through massing, apartment layouts, facades and drawing sets.
Owners deal with Motty from the first call to the approved drawings. Filings with the Department of Buildings are made by a New York State licensed architect of record.
Have a site?
Get in touch
Send us the address and we'll tell you what it can hold.
No cost for a first look.
Contact
Talk to us
The fastest way is a WhatsApp message with the site address.