CLEVELAND-Polaris Real Estate Equities and Buckingham Cos. partnered with Cleveland State University to break ground Wednesday on the $50 million Campus Village apartment project at the college. The 300 market-rate units, along with 9,000 square feet of retail space, will go up at E. 23rd St. and Chester Avenue.

The new site will feature nine buildings of apartments. Indianapolis-based Buckingham will manage the project and the property when it is complete, with a first phase expected by fall 2012 and a second phase by fall 2013. Highland Heights, OH-based Polaris will lease the property from the college. Two existing structures, the Doan building and the college’s Theater Arts building, will be demolished, with classes for the latter to move to other parts of CSU.

The college, located in the downtown and enrolling about 17,000 students, is part of the University System of Ohio. CSU has been publicly working on plans to change from a commuter school to having more residents living within the campus area, including a new student center and residential buildings going up in the Euclid Commons area. Polaris has been working with the college for the past few years on the new residential plans.