WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former school in West Des Moines will be reopening as a 17-unit apartment building primarily for local artists. The Des Moines Register reports an open house at the former Phenix Elementary School will be held on Wednesday. The former school opened in 1939 and closed in 2014.

The city approved the apartment transition last year to help bolster the art scene at nearby Valley Junction. The building’s residents will have available work space at shared studios in the former school.
More than half of the mixed-income apartments have been rented out.

Matt Hauge is the communications director for the project’s developer Community Housing Initiatives. He says the building has a “preference” for artist residents, but says non-artists can also apply.