Everything began with Robert Toshi Chan quitting his Wall Street job to begin his acting career after he got cast in a Lincoln Center Play,

As soon as he found out how hard the life as an artist is, he rented out his first penthouse in Manhattan and started looking around for a different way to survive. 

Riding around his bicycle from Manhattan over to Williamsburg was probably the best thing that happened to him.

Toshi found this dilapidated brick row house and transformed this first project of his into a beautiful Zen living space with 4 apartments: the duplex penthouse for himself and 3 apartments to help make ends meet.  

Shortly thereafter, he bought the identical building next door and a few years after that the two lots next to these.

The two buildings of 9 apartments and lot, where 12 more apartments will one day be built, are now being managed by Robert and his wife Clara.

The couple has always lived on property but moved out of 188 PH in Nov 2018 to start a family, a 5th floor walk-up wasn’t working for them anymore. They now live close by in Flatiron with their daughters Parker Rose & Rory Anne and check up on the property regularly - the family atmosphere is not lost in this charming complex.