Years ago it was plagued by drug problems, but now the Housing Authority of Bowling Green hopes to raise Campus Manor Apartment from the ashes. Thanks to a $1 purchase from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and a $1.3 million grant to perform the renovations, the housing authority plans to close on the Old Morgantown Road property by the end of the month. This is very exciting for us, said Abraham Williams, executive director of the authority. The complex will be renamed Phoenix Place, for the mythical bird that comes back to life from the ashes of a fire, Williams said. The total renovation project, which will include the installation of new security fencing as well as work on the units, is expected to total $2.2 million and be complete within a year. The housing authority is working out a deal with AREA Bank for the remainder of the financing, Williams said. That loan will be repaid with rental income. Twenty-eight of the 68 two- and three-bedroom units are occupied. Renovation will be done first in the unoccupied units and then tenants will be shuffled around. Williams said the transfer is happening because HUD took over the property after the facilitys management company ran into financial troubles. It had been a HUD-certified property. The apartments will be rented to low to low-middle income families and Williams expects that some Western Kentucky University students may opt to live in the facility because its location on Old Morgantown Road is relatively close to campus. The 28 residents currently there will be eligible to stay. Residents will be able to participate in housing authority programs, such as after school tutoring or sporting events. Williams also expects the authority will offer a police officer housing so that security would be heightened at the complex. We have them living onsite at two other complexes and it seems to work, Williams said. Bowling Green Police Capt. Johnny Watts said the officers onsite are additional help for the one officer funded by the Residence Against Drugs grant. The RAD officer will be responsible for patrolling the former Campus Manor Apartments once the switch is made, Watts said. Watts is positive that the housing authority, under Williams direction, can make the apartments a better place to live. Several years ago it was a hotspot for drug and criminal activity, he said. That has calmed some but the area still has a bit of a reputation, something likely to improve, Watts said. Mr. Williams just does a fantastic job managing the properties and he is concerned not only with the property within the fence, but the community as a whole, he said. Don Butler, executive director of Community Action of Southern Kentucky, said the project will fill another need for low- and middle-income housing in the county. And Butler said residents have the chance to improve their skills by partaking in some of the housing authority training programs.