Talk about a homecoming!

In New York, where moving from apartment to apartment is the norm, this couple grew so attached to their onetime rental building that — seven years later — they found a way to make it their permanent home.

Meet Brad and Iasmina Hill — she’s from Romania and he’s a New Yorker. They first met in June 2014 when she arrived in town to work as a food server for that summer at Evelyn Hill, the company Brad owns, which runs the cafes and retail stores at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Fast forward a bit — and beyond falling in love, they moved in together into a rental unit on the Upper West Side in 2015.

But before they called a home their own, they first crossed paths during Brad’s summer kick-off meeting to welcome new employees and interns, and discuss what to expect during the tourist-heavy months ahead.

“Iasmina was sitting in the third-row center, and I immediately noticed her smile,” said Brad, 67.

He doesn’t remember what she was wearing, but Iasmina, 32, recalls the knee-length orange sundress that kept her cool during a humid June day.

The two didn’t meet again until a few weeks later. By then, Iasmina was promoted to be the café’s host at the Statue of Liberty and had to interact with Brad as part of her role.

As they shared small talk over the next several weeks, their mutual attraction grew. Then, one afternoon, Brad approached Iasmina at the café’s entrance and invited her to a Katy Perry concert for later that week.

“I was beyond nervous, but the date was incredible,” said Iasmina. “We danced, had drinks and kissed at the end of the night.”

They continued their rendezvous over the next year-plus, partially long distance while Iasmina returned to Romania to apply for a long-term work visa. When she landed back in New York in July 2015, the couple had planned to move in together and discussed embarking on the search for the ideal rental.

“I thought that we were going to look for an apartment, but, unbeknownst to me, Brad had already signed a lease,” she said.

That lease was for a rental unit located on West 72nd Street in a building called The Corner. “He knew how much I wanted to live on the West Side and surprised me with this apartment that had incredible views of Broadway,” said Iasmina.

With a monthly rent of $5,500, the one-bedroom, one-bath spread stood on the 11th floor and spanned 700 square feet. Featuring a spacious living room and an open kitchen, it was their home through their engagement and marriage — from summer 2015 to the end of 2018.

The Hills recall how they spent days and nights there enjoying long meals, bottles of wine, sharing long conversations and having TV marathons.

“It’s the apartment where I celebrated my first-ever Thanksgiving and my first Christmas in America,” said Iasmina. “I had many, many happy memories there.”

As the saying goes, first comes love, then comes marriage. And in June 2018, the same month they wed at The Rainbow Room, Iasmina became pregnant with their first child, Michael.

“We knew that we would need a bigger apartment but were so attached to the building and neighborhood,” said Brad. “Luckily we found a three-bedroom rental on the 18th floor.”

Michael, now 4, was born in January 2019. But that September, the building was sold to Centurion Property Investors and would be converted from a rental to a condominium. The company planned to renovate to make it more high-end and would embark on an ambitious facelift.

That said, all tenants had to move out — but the family didn’t stray too far.

“We had to leave and found another rental on 62nd and Amsterdam,” said Brad.

Still, their former home continued to beckon. Iasmina visited the building frequently to chat with the doormen, many of whom the couple had befriended over the years.

“Everything I knew and loved about New York was in the neighborhood — the people, my colorist, the food truck vendors, my shoe repair shop,” said Iasmina. “I refused to know anywhere else, and when I was out and about walking Michael and our dog Cloudy, we would always end up at our old building chatting with the staff, who worked all throughout the construction.”

In 2020, however, the pandemic hit; the renovation project, like many others in New York, was temporarily halted and ended up being delayed.

In 2021, the building, now a sleek tower named 212 West 72nd, launched sales. The acclaimed architecture and interior design firm CetraRuddy was behind its transformation. Amenities got an upgrade and now include an outdoor fitness terrace, an expansive children’s playroom, a residents’ lounge and meditation garden. The lobby was also completely redesigned.

In other words, it seemed perfect for the family — and, in an unusual sense, it was already their home.

The Hills, who at that point had welcomed another boy — David, who’s now almost 2 — immediately knew that they wanted to move back into the building. “We started scouring StreetEasy for listings for the perfect place, but nothing that we liked or that I thought we could afford was for sale,” said Iasmina.

But, once more, Brad surprised her. This time with a three-bedroom apartment that she assumed was out of their price range. The sixth-floor residence is 1,700 square feet, offering views of Broadway and an abundance of natural light. It features white marble floors and walls, nickel Waterworks fixtures in the bathrooms and Miele kitchen appliances.

“I assured her that we could make it work budget-wise,” said Brad. “And we did.” (StreetEasy shows the condo went into contract for $3.7 million.)

They moved in last October and say they’re all in it for the long haul.

“We are not going anywhere,” said Brad. “This truly feels like home.”

“It’s meant to be,” added Iasmina. “Brad, Michael, David, Cloudy and I have been beyond happy here. Coming back is the best decision, and this is where our roots are.”

Moving may not be in the cards, but expanding certainly is. The Hills recently discovered that the condominium next door — a 1,420-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bathroom — was for sale. “With two little kids running around and their toys all over the place, it would be great to have more space,” said Brad.

They closed on that home in August — StreetEasy shows it was sold by Corcoran for $2.54 million — and are in the midst of discussing how best to combine the two units. “We haven’t done anything yet but are talking to various architects about how they would see the spaces,” said Brad.

Following several months of travel this summer to Romania and Ibiza, they’re now back in the city and plan to dedicate the next year to creating their new nest.

“We’re living in the best city in the best neighborhood in the best building,” said Iasmina. “We are living the dream.”

“Life doesn’t better than this,” said Brad.