The outside of the old Bowling Green High looks the same, but the inside has had a drastic change. Columns Student Housing has transformed the school and held its grand opening Tuesday ahead of some very anxious Western Kentucky University students moving in.

"Even coming from another apartment, I had my freshmen year at the dorm, and then transition to at first an apartment it was alright but coming into a new project like this it's really exciting it makes me look forward to going back to school," says WKU student Connor Raymer.

Raymer says living in the old high school has some irony to it.

"I went to the rival high school here, Greenwood High School, and of course now I am living in the old Bowling Green High School so it is ironic especially being a local kid," says Raymer.

But it has not just been current Western students excited about the apartments.

"We've had a lot of residents in Bowling Green wanna see what we have done to it, just a lot of curiosity people wanting to come in and see what does it look like now. What does my old home ec room look like, what does the old industrial arts room look like," says property manager Melissa Bryant.

Those former classroom buildings each have a unique look to suit different students.

"Each building actually has its own style. The old high school has the original hardwood floors that were in the classrooms, high ceilings, really really nice," says WKU student Kellen Fleener.

Despite recent economic times in the housing market management at Columns Student Housing says enrollment at Western was a big factor in remodeling the school.

"Enrollment at WKU continues to increase year after year and we just saw an opportunity to take advantage of that plus we wanted to provide a product in Bowling Green that would help the revitalize downtown project," says Bryant.

Management hopes to have four of the five buildings on the property to be complete by the time Western Kentucky University students come back to town.