Quote:
Originally Posted by Easy
There are two different concepts here. The basic principle is that when you buy real estate you own everything below ground towards the center of the earth and everything above ground towards the sky. Those rights come with the property and what you own above ground are called "air rights". Nobody can build something that hangs over your property because that air/space belongs to you. It's as simple as a neighbor's fruit tree branches reaching over your fence.
Air rights can also be sold, just as below ground mineral rights are. A property owner may allow a building to extend over their property and can sell that part of their property separately.
The second concept and what may not exist everywhere is the practice that air rights can be detached from the property and sold separately as a commodity. This happens because those air rights are allowed to be used to increase FAR.
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I know about buying and selling air rights. But I have a question. Can someone buying air rights from another parcel not using them go ahead and build a higher/bigger tower, or do they ALSO need to get planning commission/city council approval? Are there many hoops, or is buying the air rights sufficient to build taller? Besides the US Bank ("LIbrary") tower, have other buildings in DTLA used air rights to build taller? Wilshire Grand?