Judith Viccione will live free for a year thanks to a contest by her landlord Picerne Real Estate Group.
The Warwick-based company announced Tuesday that Viccione had won a drawing for a free year’s worth of rent, valued at $11,400. Viccione lives in the Cowesett Hills Apartments in Cowesett, part of Warwick.
The contest was open only to existing residents extending their current lease for a year on a one or two bed-room apartment at any one of Picerne’s 23 market-rate apartment communities in Rhode Island. The company said more than 300 families participated in the drawing, which was held on Aug. 31.
“I have really enjoyed living here and winning a year of free rent is like icing on the cake,” said Viccione, who has lived at Cowesett since 2003.
Residents at Picerne apartment buildings in Coventry, Cranston, East Providence, Middletown, Providence and West Warwick also participated in the drawing.
The drawing followed a similar one held last summer that awarded a year of free rent to a resident in Harbor Village in Middletown.
Picerne recently announced plans to spend more than $26 million renovating its Rhode Island properties.
“The state of Rhode Island has been particularly hard hit by this recession,” said Cheryl Martin, vice president of Picerne Real Estate Group. “Picerne is a national company, but we have strong roots in Rhode Island. We hope by investing in Rhode Island, and its residents, we can encourage other companies to do the same.”
Picerne Real Estate Group is a family-owned company found in 1925. It operates apartment complexes in Arizona, Nevada and Rhode Island.
