Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the role of the developers and partners on the project.

Developers, partners and engineers of a new apartment complex put shovels to dirt and celebrated the work they’ve put in on Thursday.

Chase Kelley, lead developer of the Cedar Point Apartments, and Michael Bechert, managing partner of the Cedar Point Apartments, both graduated from WKU in 2007 and 2006 as members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity on campus, where they grew a bond with one another during their time on the Hill.

“I think that’s really helped us — this group — come together,” Beckert said.

Kelley started in the restaurant business and real estate after college, while Bechert went to work with Nike. Kelley had the idea to start an apartment complex and got Bechert and the other partners involved.

“It was super helpful that we knew each other from the past, and so we had that trust and kind of relationship,” Bechert said.

The idea that started with Kelley has now become the Cedar Point apartments. The apartments will be a part of a new mixed used development called the Evergreen Commons, which will feature a Wawa convenience store, a section for retail and various businesses, and the new Cedar Point apartments. The development is Kelley and Bechert’s third with their company, 5ive Financial, and the first in Bowling Green.

“Certainly excited to develop this property and (have it) in my backyard hometown of Bowling Green,” Kelley said.

The Cedar Point apartments will have 112 units for lease, and Kelley said he envisions WKU students and members of the Bowling Green community living there, given its distance to campus.

Kelley said he sees the housing provided by Cedar Point as a way to give back to the community. Initial buildings, located on Gunnison Trailway, will be available for lease in the spring of 2027.