400 South Ocean Boulevard

The Roebling Research Desk · October 2026

The 400 Building has an architectural identity that distinguishes it from its Midtown neighbors. Edward Durell Stone’s condominium combines duplex residences, open-air circulation around a water garden and a rooftop leisure area. Its address places Worth Avenue nearby and the beach across South Ocean Boulevard. For a buyer, the attraction lies as much in the way the building is organized as in an individual apartment’s view.

At a glance

• Address: 400 South Ocean Boulevard, Town of Palm Beach
• Ownership: Condominium
• Architect: Edward Durell Stone
• Era: Early 1960s development history
• Landmark designation: Adopted by the Town in 2012
• Residential character: Duplex apartments, penthouses and later combinations

The County record confirms condominium ownership. The Town Council adopted the building’s landmark designation through Resolution 11-2012 at its January 11, 2012 meeting.

Architecture and history

The 400 began as an apartment project intended to provide hotel-style services before its investors adopted condominium ownership. The Historical Society of Palm Beach County places that transition within the county’s early condominium history and records rehabilitation work initiated around 2000 involving members of Stone’s family.

The central courtyard is more than an entrance feature: the building’s open circulation brings residents back to a shared outdoor interior. The water garden and surrounding walkways create a recognizable communal space within the block. The rooftop pool provides a second shared focal point at a different level, with a broad relationship to the ocean and town.

Materials are part of that architectural identity. In a 2023 letter submitted to the Town, architect Hicks Stone described the association approaching him in 2000 for improvements to his father’s building and explained his approach to its architectural character. That account documents the building’s continuing design history; it should not be read as a current engineering assessment or a statement that a particular maintenance program is complete.

How the residences work

The duplex arrangement separates living and sleeping spaces across levels. A local building guide describes stairs rising from the living area to bedrooms and notes that, in ocean-facing residences, a guest bedroom may face the interior courtyard. This is a useful reminder that an ocean-facing apartment can still contain rooms with quite different outlooks.

Buyers should test the vertical arrangement against daily routines: the trip between bedroom and kitchen, the location of a work area, and the separation between guests and the main living space. A plan that provides welcome privacy for one household may create unnecessary stairs for another. Combined apartments require particular attention because joining original homes can alter circulation and room proportions substantially.

Penthouses introduce another variation. An inspected PHC offering describes three bedrooms, ten-foot ceilings and a wraparound terrace advertised at approximately 1,450 square feet. Those are apartment-specific details, not a specification for every residence. They show how outdoor space can become a defining part of a 400 Building home and why terrace area should be separated from enclosed interior area in comparisons.

Shared spaces

Published information identifies the rooftop pool and sundeck, fitness facilities, a party room, guest rooms, door staff and garage parking. Confirm how guest rooms are reserved and which services are currently provided. On a tour, follow the route from the garage through the courtyard to the apartment and roof; this reveals how the shared spaces fit everyday use.

What to know if buying

Consider the apartment plan and landmark review together. The Town’s September 2023 agenda included an application for replacement balcony tiles under a Certificate of Appropriateness. That specific example shows that a seemingly modest visible change can enter preservation review. It does not establish the outcome of that application or mean every interior alteration needs the same process.

Before pricing a renovation, have the local architect identify the work requiring association or Town approval, including visible windows, doors, terraces or materials. For a combined residence, obtain approved combination plans. The building’s design history is a reason to understand these constraints early, alongside the apartment’s condition and the association’s current work plans.

Useful building comparisons

• 330 South Ocean Boulevard offers a nearby beach-across-the-road condominium with private elevator landings, useful for comparing arrival and internal circulation.
• Lowell House, at 340 South Ocean Boulevard, provides another staffed Midtown condominium with substantial rooms and shared recreation facilities.
• 300 South Ocean Boulevard adds a cooperative option on the same corridor, making ownership structure as relevant as apartment layout.

Contact The Roebling Team for an introduction to a licensed local Compass agent to compare residences and coordinate document review.