Seeking to attain a variance for hotel development Brooklyn,NY

[Christian Podedworny]

My family and I own a commercial property located in Williamsburg Brooklyn which has seen an immense upswing in development in the past 8 years. The building was zoned m1 when we purchased it in 1993 and we currently use it for our business application but the zoning has changed to r6. Is there a possibility in using the m1 zoning to build a hotel and add two more floors to the building? The FAR is currently maxed out. Neighboring 8 families homes retain 4 floors while our building has only 2 floors. I was told getting a variance will be difficult, time consuming and will require approvals of the community board. My architect said it can be done but he does not guarantee anything.

[Jon Holdman]

The only way to answer this is to speak with someone in the "planning and zoning commission" or whatever its called for the area. Often these variances require multiple hearings including input from the neighbors. If you arrange a time to set with a planner and discuss your situation he or she can probably tell you about the process and the likelihood of success. If the planning and zoning commission doesn't support your plan you have very little chance of getting it approved. If they do, and the city council does, and the neighbors ALL do, then you have a good shot. In between, who knows. Its (usually) free to have the conversation.