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I continue to be amazed that cities, like Paris, can make small housing projects, like this one at 18 rue Pradier, work.
The site is approximately 277 m2:
And yet, social housing developer Seqens built 8 floors, 15 apartments, and even used a stone facade with built-in sun shades on the windows.
The total building area is approximately 1,030 m2 (~11,086 ft2). That's an average of 1,385 ft2 per floor, which would be unthinkable here in Toronto with our two required means of egress.
So let's consider some of the math.
My internet sleuthing tells me that this site last sold on December 6, 2018 for €3,950,000. That works out to ~€263k per door or €356 per buildable square foot. This is a wild land basis!
So is it that construction costs are that much lower or that the project received heavy subsidies? Maybe it's both. I shall continue sleuthing.
Project photography by Cyrille Lallement via ArchDaily; building section from Mobile Architectural Office
Brandon Donnelly
The article is a valuable resource for anyone interested in this topic.
Beautiful building, Brandon, thanks for sharing. Yes, hard to imagine how the city made the numbers work. I'm guessing it was heavily subsidized under their social housing program. Perhaps the city bought -- and took the loss -- on the land. If you subtract the land value, perhaps it starts to pencil out. Note, not only is there only one exit stair, but the configuration of the stair (winders) would likely be against code here in Ontario. I think we're only allowed to have two winders in a row for a designated exit stair.