2704 S Emerald
- Building
- Built 1888 · 2 stories · two- to six-flat
- Prepared
- September 2026
This report synthesizes public information to show what a property is on the city and county record and what its zoning and location would allow it to become.
2704 S Emerald is a two-flat built in 1888, on a 2,952-square-foot lot in Bridgeport. A one-story, 600-square-foot rear building shares the lot. Antonio Vargas bought it in September 2024 for $250,000.
The land is zoned RT-4, which allows one home for every 1,000 square feet of lot. On this lot more already stands than that arithmetic allows: three homes where two would be permitted today, in 2,154 square feet of building against 3,542 allowed. The base zoning adds nothing. Under the citywide ADU ordinance that took effect in April 2026, the two-flat may add one conversion unit and a coach house besides, neither counted against the lot-area rule, without the permit caps and owner-occupancy conditions that apply in parts of the city; that ordinance, not the base zoning, is where a further unit would come from, and if the rear house is not yet a dwelling on the city’s record, a coach-house permit is the route that would make it one. Whether any of that fits on this land is a question for a survey and an architect.
The city has two inspections on record, one of them failed, and no violations. The file holds two minor repair permits from 2010 and an outstanding 311 complaint of unpermitted construction from September 11, 2026.
What is on record
The city has inspected this address twice and failed it once, has never written a violation against it, and the permit file holds two minor repair permits from 2010, $9k of reported cost together. The Assessor’s value has risen 104 percent since 2017, to $65,000. What the record cannot tell you is the age of the roof, the boiler and the wiring, or whether the largest job was finished and signed off.1,2
What the zoning allows
The property is zoned RT-4, residential two-flat, townhouse and multi-unit. The district allows one home per 1,000 square feet of lot, 1.2 square feet of building per square foot of land and 38 feet of height.
A coach house or a conversion unit is allowed here by right, and neither counts against the district’s lot area per unit. A building that has stood twenty years may add conversion units — basement or attic units — equal to a third of its lawful units, rounded, so the two-flat adds one. A coach house — one dwelling in an accessory building no taller than 22 feet, inside the rear-setback coverage the code allows — is permitted besides. Where two or more are added after May 2021, half of them must be kept affordable for thirty years. The city’s ADU ordinance has applied citywide since April 2026: RT, RM, B and C districts qualify outright, RS districts only where the alderperson opted the ward in. 2704 S Emerald is outside the areas where the city adds conditions (annual permit caps, owner occupancy, administrative adjustment), so none apply.3
The base zoning adds nothing. A lot of 2,952 square feet allows two homes at the district’s rate; three stand today, so what stands predates the rule, and any change to the count is a question for a zoning certificate. The district allows 3,542 square feet of building; 2,154 stand, leaving about 1,388. Setbacks, the rear yard, parking and light decide the real number. Consult an architect for confirmation.
Second dwellings nearby
Five owners within half a mile of 2704 S Emerald have pulled permits on a coach house or second unit. Five kept theirs, at $25k to $110k of permitted work.
Use the five renovations as the price range for keeping a second dwelling here. The highest, $110,000 at 3119 S Princeton Ave, was the largest job.
| Address | Away | Cost | What the permit did |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1515 W 28th St | 1,400 ft | $25kMay 2021 | Renovated |
| 23246 S Normal Ave | 3,776 ft | $55kAugust 2024 | Renovated |
| 31015 W 20th Pl | 4,141 ft | $55kAugust 2026 | Renovated |
| 43119 S Princeton Ave | 4,787 ft | $110kJuly 2024 | Renovated · 2 permits |
| 52015 S Allport St | 4,984 ft | $68kApril 2026 | Renovated |
- 1515 W 28th St. The main building’s rear porch and the coach house’s front and rear staircases replaced in kind. $25,000 permit, May 2021.
- 23246 S Normal Ave. Gut rehab of a one-story coach house with basement on a $55,000 permit of August 2024, after a $33,000 rear-porch replacement that May; a new 100-amp electrical service followed in January 2025.
- 31015 W 20th Pl. Renovation of a one-and-a-half-story coach house with basement — new interior finishes and upgraded mechanical, electrical and plumbing — on a $55,000 permit of August 2026, with $6,500 of masonry repair on the rear house that April.
- 43119 S Princeton Ave. Two buildings on one permit: a new HVAC system for the two-flat in front and a level-2 interior remodel of the two-story brick coach house behind it, its deck replaced in place. $30,000 in April 2024, revised to $80,000 in July for the coach-house interior.
- 52015 S Allport St. Interior renovation of a two-unit, two-and-a-half-story frame coach house, its front porch rebuilt as a two-story open porch with a roof and its side stairs replaced. $68,000 permit, April 2026, after $2,000 of preparatory interior demolition in February.
The block
The 2700 block of S Emerald Ave, both sides, is 22 homes: 13 two- to six-flats and 9 single-family houses. Within an eighth of a mile the mix is 40% two- to six-flats, 39% single-family houses and 8% exempt lots (public or institutional), and 53% of the census tract’s homes are rented.
Four permits of $250,000 or more have been issued within an eighth of a mile in the last five years, three of them for new construction: 2807 S Halsted St, an interior renovation, $6.0M in 2023; 2807 S Halsted St, new four story residential building with 1st floor retail component…, $6.0M in 2021; 724 W 26th St, a new three-story building, $500k in 2026. One application is pending: 2603 S Halsted St, roof work, filed March 2026. On the block itself the largest permit since 2016 is $450k at 2716 S Emerald Ave in 2020.
No business holds an active license on the block. The nearest run of storefronts is on S Halsted St, 134 feet west, with Szechuan Bistro I, a restaurant, Taipei Cafe, a restaurant, and Tonys Body & Fender Shop, a parking operator.
| Address | Filed or issued | What | Cost or status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2603 S Halsted St | March 2026 | Roof work | Pending |
| 2807 S Halsted St | 2023 | An interior renovation | $6.0M |
| 2807 S Halsted St | 2021 | New four story residential building with 1st floor retail component… | $6.0M |
| 724 W 26th St | 2026 | A new three-story building | $500k |
| 2713 S Union Ave | 2022 | A new two-story house | $300k |
Quick questions
Questions to put to your architect, your broker and the seller before an offer (feel free to ).
- Open item 311, Building Violation, Unpermitted construction reported, 11 Sep 2026. Ask the seller what work is under way and which permit covers it.
- City file Why did the Department of Buildings inspect for new construction in June 2024 when no permit is on file for the past ten years? What was the administrative hearing on the building’s record about? Ask the seller, and pull the case file from the Department of Administrative Hearings.
- Rear building Is the rear house a dwelling on the city’s record, not only the Assessor’s? If not, a coach-house permit under the ADU ordinance is what would make it one, provided it meets the section’s 22-foot height, 15-foot separation and side-yard rules. Either way the two-flat may add one conversion unit; where two units are added after May 2021, one must be kept affordable for thirty years. Ask the seller, then the Department of Buildings.