Last fall, Charlene MacDonald looked out the window of her Bradenton studio apartment at the large numbers of homeless people lining up at the Salvation Army.
She felt that her life had to change.
For more than three decades MacDonald had worked in child welfare and protective services.
Now she was moved to make an impact on the area’s growing housing crisis.
“How do I help with this?” she thought.
Within weeks her professional trajectory shifted into a new job as care manager with the nonprofit Second Heart Homes.
But even as MacDonald threw herself with relish into her work – empowering formerly homeless residents with stable housing and a pipeline to social services – she could not foresee that a few months later, she, too, would fall victim to the crisis.
She came close to landing on the street herself.
Fortunately for MacDonald, 60, the timing of her plight coincided with the recent grand opening of Bradenton’s The Nest at Robin’s Apartments – a 182-unit workforce housing community built and managed by One Stop Housing.
Sitting adjacent to the Robin’s Apartments – a former hotel that One Stop restored into 240 workforce units – The Nest is a newly constructed, white-and-teal three-story, concrete-block community offering affordable studios, and one- and two-bedroom apartments.
It also includes a club house, valet trash service, on-site security, telehealth and laundry.
In addition to One Stop’s own financing and investment, Manatee County provided gap funding in the form of a low-interest $3.5 million “catalytic loan” to expedite the $23 million project.
The innovative public-private partnership will help keep the rents low – at or below 80 % Area Median Income.
Studios are starting at $1,170 a month – utilities included; one bedrooms at $1,395; and two-bedroom, two bathroom apartments at $1,735 a month – also utilities included, said One Stop CEO Mark Vengroff.
The inclusive utilities amount to a monthly value of between $180 and $280 per unit, he said.
Helping those who help others
Applications opened a few weeks ago, and already the building is 25 % pre-leased.
The Nest’s opening comes as costs of living have soared for local residents – pushing the survival budget for a family of four to more than $104,000 in Sarasota County and $95,000 in Manatee County – while median incomes in both places was a little over $77,000 and $79,000, respectively.
Half of The Nest’s apartments prioritize teachers, first responders, medical, health and social service employees – essential workers who are increasingly getting priced out of the region, Vengroff said.
“It’s helping the people who help others,” he added.
‘I was drowning’
Yet when MacDonald first learned about The Nest, she thought it wasn’t for her – that other residents in the area needed the help more, even though she’d just lost her home.
Early this year, juggling $1,600 rent for her small studio apartment, plus rising food and utility costs and a series of new fees at her complex –- $75 for internet; $25 for valet trash, $5 for parking – MacDonald fell behind on rent for the first time in her two years there.
Management blocked installment payments, she said.
“I was drowning, every month, I was drowning,” MacDonald said.
Facing eviction, she responded to an ad, and for the last several months has been renting a bedroom in someone’s condo for $1,000 a month, throwing out much of her belongings and putting her sunflower decorations in storage.
An advanced professional, MacDonald found herself living out a scene from her 20s: sharing refrigerator space, breathing in secondhand smoke, afraid to complain too much lest she lose the roof over her head.
“I could have been out in the streets sleeping in my car,” MacDonald said.
“Literally one sneeze and I was going to be homeless.”
When a co-worker told her that one of their clients was exploring The Nest and she should do the same, MacDonald wrestled with the idea.
She was convinced that affordable housing was supposed to be for the disabled, very low-income residents and those less fortunate than her.
“I can’t go do that, I go to work every day; I didn’t want to take from someone else,” she said.
“Charlene,” her co-worker replied; professionals like her need an affordable place to live, too.
“They say, ‘You all need to get a job,” MacDonald said, referring to stereotypes about residents of affordable housing.
“I go to work every day, I have a steady paycheck, but I was on the brink of homelessness.”
‘I got goosebumps’
MacDonald applied, and when she got the call this spring that she’d been accepted, she yelped with joy.
Initially MacDonald picked a one-bedroom unit – but she eventually preferred the studio layout and the incredibly reasonable price.
Recently, as she stopped by The Nest as workers put finishing touches on the complex ahead of its grand opening – MacDonald received another big surprise.
Vengroff told her the rent included all utilities, something she hadn’t realized.
“The trash, too?!” she said, tapping her feet on the ground in excitement and laughing with disbelief.
“To have this? Oh, my God. This is amazing,” MacDonald said.
“This is a blessing to me. I got goosebumps.”
Popping into one of the studios with Vengroff, MacDonald swept through the unit – admiring the granite countertops, copious cabinet space, built-in microwave and large bathroom.
She envisioned exactly where she’d put her daybed, her sunflower carpet and curtains.
“Thank you,” MacDonald said, turning to Vengroff.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: The Nest builds more workforce housing in Bradenton
Reporting by Saundra Amrhein, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Saundra Amrhein, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
