Bobby Fijan
bobbyfijan.bsky.social
Bobby Fijan
@bobbyfijan.bsky.social
Building Housing for Families
Stratos
November 11, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Looks awesome
November 11, 2025 at 12:14 AM
maybe
November 10, 2025 at 10:40 PM
And, frankly, would be flat out better connection of the balcony to the living space
November 10, 2025 at 10:36 PM
It's trivial to do a layout that is generally this layout
November 10, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Could easily be a 3BR if you just put the 3rd bedroom in the corner windows
November 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
It's a worst of both worlds. A den ... that doesn't even have the full walls
November 10, 2025 at 10:33 PM
or a golf siimulator
November 10, 2025 at 10:28 PM
It's an amenity that actually gets used ... unlike a pool table
November 10, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Unfortunately ... guess the number of 3BR units in the building

ZERO.
November 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
But if you can make it work … that’s great. And I hope even more people can

There’s plenty of demand such that I can build (market rate) rowhomes and you can build single stair 3BRs stacked flats.
November 7, 2025 at 6:18 PM
I’m pretty skeptical at the effectiveness of single stair to deliver family RENTAL units … at least as the laws are proposed today.

I support the de-regulation, but I’ve looked at a lot of projects as single stair, and it hasn’t made sense due to cost

Rowhomes make a lot more sense to me.
November 7, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I’m actually looking at a project in Albuquerque right now. So I don’t think that’s universally correct.
November 3, 2025 at 3:40 PM
I think the most persuasive framing towards conservatives, and even those who are certain that single family homes are better is this:

bsky.app/profile/bobb...
Young people are increasingly living in larger apartment buildings

For those who care about families and people having babies … since young people ARE living in those units, the key is to make it as easy as possible for younger couples to have their first child

“Baby Maybe Housing”
October 31, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Kotkin, and the outgrowth of his ideas ... have become much more hostile to the City at all

(which obviously I reject)
October 31, 2025 at 7:01 PM
where i'll defend my team is this: I don't think they want anything to be disallowed, like studios or adus ... even though they'd argue the effect on fertility is limited

This is more about cataloguing what people say they want. And "families" still prefer the idea of a house.
October 31, 2025 at 7:00 PM
And I learned this lesson the hard way.

I did a project in Rittenhhouse, where the small floorplans did really well.

Then we did a project in the Main Line and repeated some of the same units ... but it was the 2 and 3BRs that rented way better. The Studios sat for a long time.
October 31, 2025 at 6:39 PM
I think that rhetoric is really just a outflowing of the Suburbs vs City debate, like Kotkin

It's rare that Studios and Single Family Homes make sense at the same address

Build more Studios in the Navy Yard and downtown ... but ALSO we need more SFH and larger units in greenfield.
October 31, 2025 at 6:37 PM
100%
October 31, 2025 at 5:12 PM