DURHAM — A long-awaited renovation project in downtown Durham is getting a major push.

Former Duke basketball players Brian Davis and Christian Laettner are turning five historic tobacco warehouses into apartments and commercial space called West Village.

The company, Blue Devil Ventures, will get a $7.9 million investment fromFannie Mae, part of theU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The $36 million renovation project will transform the warehouses into 247 loft apartments and 31,000 square feet of commercial space.

Davis says the public-private partnership will speed West Village to reality.

"We're gonna see the first units before December, the first 160," he says. "We have gone through a lot, but I think we've grown a lot over it and learned a lot more, and because of the time, the project has gotten better."

Fannie Mae's investment comes through its American Communities Fund. Goals of the fund are to invest in projects that bolster neighborhood housing and community revitalization.