Chicago zoning comparison · reaching the Connected Communities bonus tier
B1-2 vs B1-3: which lets you build more?
B1-3 carries the larger envelope — FAR 3 vs 2.2; on a standard 25 × 125 ft Chicago lot, B1-3 permits 7 units by right against 3; the height limits are 65 ft vs 50 ft.
Figures originally read from a Title 17 excerpt in a third-party zoning report dated 18 September 2024. On 24 August 2026 the bulk standards — floor area ratio, lot area per unit, building height and minimum lot area — were re-checked against the current adopted edition 2026-S-73 and found unchanged. Setbacks and parking ratios were not part of that pass and still rest on the 2024 reading. Data snapshot generated 2026-08-24. How this data is produced and checked →
Side by side
| B1-2 Neighborhood Shopping 2 | B1-3 Neighborhood Shopping 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Max FAR | 2.2 | 3 |
| Max height | 50 ft | 65 ft |
| Lot area per unit | 1,000 sf | 400 sf |
| Units on a standard 25×125 ft lot | 3 | 7 |
| Min lot area | — | — |
| Residential parking / unit | 1 | 1 |
| Max lot coverage | 70% | 75% |
| Permitted uses | ground-floor retail, multi-unit residential and mixed-use buildings | ground-floor retail, multi-unit residential and mixed-use buildings |
| Connected Communities bulk bonus tier | No | Yes (B-3/C-3 tier) |
Green marks the more permissive value. Setbacks are contextual in both districts and omitted here — see the district pages for the working scalars and the governing formulas.