Administrators for the Spokane International Academy are moving forward on a $3.7 million proposal to consolidate the two schools they operate into a single location on the 500 block of East Wellesley Avenue, on Spokane’s North Side.

The Primary Academy school—for students ranging from kindergarten to fourth grade—is currently located at 2706 E. Queen, on the North Side, and the Middle Academy school—for sixth through eighth graders—is located at 4224 E. Fourth, in East Spokane.

School administrators met with city of Spokane planning and development staff last month to discuss their proposed plans to move both schools to one location at 545 E. Wellesley.

Preliminary site plans show school administrators want to place K-4 students in the 26,000-square-foot building currently owned by Zion Spokane Church.

A 14,000-square-foot addition would then be constructed to add room for middle school students. The addition also would give the school room to add a fifth grade class, the plans say.

The 3-acre parcel takes up the block bordered on the north and south sides by Broad and Wellesley avenues and on the west and east sides by Standard and Addison streets.

Spokane International Academy CEO Travis Franklin says school officials are working with a potential partner, which he declines to identify, to acquire the building from Zion Spokane Church.

“Our hope and plan is to have all of our K-8 located there for the 2019-20 school year,” Franklin says.

Located just east of NorthTown Mall, the current building was constructed in 1949 and remodeled in 1980 for church use, city records say.

Spokane-based NAC Architecture is currently listed as the project’s architect.

Spokane International Academy was founded in 2014 following the passing of Washington state’s school charter initiative in November 2013. The school’s first academic year was 2015-16, Franklin says.