A new apartment complex on West Third Street will open its doors in August to a mix of student and resident tenants.

The building — now known as High Bridge Lofts — is owned by Walk2Campus Properties (W2C) and is in the midst of a renovation that will make 18 apartments available come the end of summer.

W2C President Matt King said there will be one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments available for anyone interested.

“Given the proximity to Longwood’s main campus, I’d certainly expect to have plenty of students, but the apartments are open to anyone,” he said.

King said the unit type determines the price range for rooms, but rooms will have a monthly rent between $640 and $975 per person. The fee includes internet, cable TV, parking and water. Students have the option to pay by the semester or the month.

“Not surprisingly, and given the very large renovation expense for this building and the resulting apartment quality, the High Bridge Lofts are at the higher end of our range, but we have plenty of apartments below this range,” King said.

Each apartment will have a full kitchen, central air and heat, in-unit washers and dryers and hardwood floors.

“There will be an exercise room, business center, a commons with big-screen TVs and a kitchen,” said King.

“The building is unique,” he said. “You can’t create these kinds of spaces and character with ground up/new construction. You just can’t.”

King said people don’t often come across 9-foot windows or an apartment with a brewery downstairs, referencing Third Street Brewing, which is set to open around the same time as the apartments on the ground floor of the building.

“It’s located on the High Bridge Trail with access to walking, biking and running, and next door to the river. It’s a very well designed plan,” he said.

King noted that the architects, Rosney Co., have a good sense of both space and creating livable environments.

“They have very successfully balanced the historic features with modern amenities. People are going to love living in these apartments,” he said.

King said the renovations to the former Southern States Farmers Cooperative building cost “more than we could have possibly imagined. Nothing about the project is inexpensive.”

These costs are the result of W2C and King’s desire to maintain and improve upon the structure’s historical integrity.

He said the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and National Park Service has strict standards for restoration and they are following those standards very closely.

“Maintaining the volume of the space is key,” King said, as well as “protecting and highlighting historic elements such as original brick walls, beams and rafters.”

Consultants at Roanoke-based Hill Studio are helping guide W2C through the renovation process.

“Interestingly, we discovered in an old photograph that the building had dormers on the fourth floor and a standing seam metal roof in 1902,” said King. “So we’ve put those back on.”

King said that’s indicative of the level of thought and effort W2C is putting into the project. He said W2C has already leased a handful of the apartments.

In addition to the loft project, King said, there will be W2C apartments opening in August at 200 N. Main St., above the future location for Barnes and Noble.

King said they are also working on plans for additional housing on the old WC Newman site next door to the High Bridge Lofts.

“It’s just a start,” he said. “Hopefully there will be many more projects, from us and other developers, converting older buildings into apartments downtown in the future. There is more to come.”