The Commercial Real Estate Alpha Site

By CLAIRE ARONSON

Via Bradenton Herald

BRADENTON – With her children in a foster home and no place to go, Kandice Hamel almost gave up.

But two years later, Hamel, 32, who is in recovery, has a new life — one with her children and her partner, Christine Dixon. Living at Robin’s Apartments, 2303 First St., for the past four months has allowed Hamel to bring the entire family together, including children Tyler, 8, Skyler, 5, and Sarah, who is almost two months old.

“To me, it’s not Bradenton,” Hamel said Wednesday in her home at Robin’s Apartments. “It’s a different place here. …We decided to build our family together.”

On Wednesday, Robin’s Apartments had a celebration to mark its one-year anniversary. The first residents moved into the former Knights Inn last July after the new owner transformed the units into furnished apartments with water, electricity, cable and internet for $650 per month.

While some of the 240 units currently being renovated are vacant, 97 percent of the available units are occupied, according to Vallerie Guillory, who manages the apartments with her husband, Scott Claar.

“It was really rough for us in the beginning but since then, we have really cultivated our community,” Guillory said. “It’s turned into a really beautiful space.”
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