Designed in 1913 by Cass Gilbert, the architect of Manhattan’s famous Woolworth Building and the man known as the world’s first skyscraper builder, 184 Kent was the waterfront warehouse for Austin, Nichols & Co., then the United States’ largest grocer and distributor of Wild Turkey bourbon. They moved to Williamsburg from the lower East Side for waterfront access to boats delivering and shipping products.

The six-story 425,000-square-foot building was one of the soundest warehouses ever built. Gilbert designed more ornate courthouses and treasury buildings of the same material, but 184 Kent was a pared-down version of its stately counterparts. Its integrity is in its simplicity.

“This building is basically a 41-story skyscraper on its side, with four separate cores,” says Halpern, walking the site of his 339-unit development. “We have the best site in the area, the best building in the area, and we have the most history in the area.”

It isn’t just history that makes this project one of the city’s most intriguing rentals in recent memory. The construction,  landmark issue and marketing strategy were methodically thought out to ensure this building got as much care as possible.

“Development is never as simple as it looks,” says Halpern, whose JMH Development is developing Soundview Pointe, a successful gated community in College Point, Queens. “This was a very complicated project.”

After some early controversy caused by the previous owners, who evicted long-term tenants and lobbied the city council to have the New York City Landmark Commission’s decision to protect the building overturned (owners wanted to build a seven-story glass box on top for a condominium conversion), Halpern’s group bought out the owners and secured 184 Kent as a rental. Immediately, JMH went through a nine-month process of having the building federally landmarked, allowing him tax credits on the rehab.

“We would not have been able to do this project economically without the landmark approval,” he says. “It meant saving us 25 cents for every dollar spent on refurbishing.”

Next, Halpern’s team focused on design. Landmark approval led the way to a one-floor addition on top of the structure that added units in pods with large terraces on the building’s rooftop. Working with the New York firms of SLCE Architects on exteriors, Slade Architecture on interiors, and Scape on landscaping, they decided to cut a giant hole the size of a football field in the building to give tenants a garden-like common space and outdoor terraces.