RICHTON PARK, Ill. (WBBM) – The first charter high school in the Chicago suburbs now has its own building, more than seven months after classes began.

As WBBM Newsradio 780’s Bernie Tafoya reports, Southland College Prep charter school in Richton Park was initially housed in a middle school. But as of Monday, there is a new building students and 10 classes in a school described by Southland chief executive officer Dr. Blondine Davis as more of a junior college campus.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780′s Bernie Tafoya reports

“It’s 85,000 square feet; sits on 8 acres of land. We were able to purchase it for $3.4 million and to upgrade it to what it is now, and it’s absolutely beautiful,” Davis said.

The Southland College Prep building used to house an insurance company call-in center. The school serves seven south suburban elementary districts.

Two hundred seventy-two students have applied to be freshmen at the school next year, but only 122 of them will be chosen next week.