Pride Prep Schools has begun work on its fourth and final expansion and renovation phase at 811 E. Sprague, on the southern edge of the University District, says superintendent and founder Brenda McDonald.

The renovation will add six classrooms and three counseling spaces to the existing facility the charter school leases from Web Properties Inc., says McDonald.

Finley Construction Inc., of Spokane, is the contractor on the 14,000-square-foot, $750,000 renovation, which was designed by Pondera Architecture, also of Spokane.

McDonald says the space previously was occupied by Freeform by Contract Resource Group, a Spokane-based office furniture store, which moved to 715 E. Sprague in late April.

The renovation includes over 5,700 square feet of classroom space and just under 8,300 square feet of office and support space.

The school currently occupies over 60,700 square feet of space.

The extension includes a large multipurpose area for arts performances and an exhibition space for students to display their projects, as well as lab space.

Pride Prep began its expansion in early 2017, which doubled the five-year-old charter school’s leased space and has enabled the school to accommodate its first high school classes. The new high school, called Innovation High School, opened for the 2018-19 school year.

Pride Prep, which originally leased 15,000 square feet of space, added about 17,000 square feet of vacant warehouse space directly to the east of the original middle school in early 2017.

McDonald says the school has added at least 100 students a year and currently serves about 600 in grades six through 11. Once the final phase is complete, the school will be able to accommodate its incoming 12th-grade students, she says.

Construction began in May, and McDonald anticipates it will be completed in August, before school starts on Sept. 3. She says Finley Construction was able to work through the spring while school was in session, which has helped keep the project on schedule.