Students tired of dorm life and ready to live on their own now have another option in Bowling Green.

A new student-oriented apartment complex called Campus Pointe opened Aug. 10 at 2602 Navajo Drive, behind Western Place.

Similar to Western Place and the Gables, Campus Pointe contains apartments geared toward students who are working their way through college.

“It’s luxury student housing,” manager Mami Cash said. “It’s for the independent students who want to live on their own.”

Amenities in the two or three bedroom apartments include private baths, fully furnished kitchens, a washer and dryer, basic cable and broadband Internet access.

Tenants also will have access to a computer lab, fitness center, game room, swimming pool and volleyball court.

About 53 percent of the 19,000-plus housing units in Bowling Green are rentals, according to a 2002 demographic study by the City-County planning commission.

Even though there are many rental properties in town, Campus Pointe is different, said assistant manager Deborah Slaughter.

“When you live at Campus Pointe, you have your own bathroom, you have your own walk-in closet,” Slaughter said.

The cost of living in these spacious digs primarily depends on the number of bedrooms students want and whether they need the apartment furnished, but rates are comparable to Western Place and the Gables.

For an unfurnished three-bedroom unit, the price is $355 per room. For an unfurnished two-bedroom unit, the price is $402 per room. Furnished units cost more.

All rooms are individually leased.

Construction on the Bowling Green project started last December. Five of the nine buildings are still in the construction phase.

Fourteen of the 22 planned Campus Pointe complexes have already opened in college towns across the Southeast.

Several students moved in during early August and the community currently houses about 117 people.

When all nine buildings are completed next fall, 372 people will be able to call Campus Pointe their home.

Reach Lee Fisher at [email protected].