A private Christian school in Wenatchee is making plans to move into a newer and bigger building.

The River Academy's petition to start construction on the new school has the city's approval.

"We're blessed to already own 10 acres of land at the far south end of Miller Street, right across from Saddle Rock Church. And half of that property is in the city and then half is in the county," Director of Development Andie Johnson said. "So in order to build, you obviously need the entire property to fall under one jurisdiction. So that prompted the annexation from the county into the city, which will be finalized on March 19."

Johnson says they've known for awhile that the school will eventually outgrow the existing building.

"As part of the design process, we really made sure to get lots of stakeholder and user feedback, just to ensure that we are really prioritizing the function of the building and our kind of our unique classical programming into that design." Johnson said.

The project will undergo four phases. The first priority is classrooms for secondary students, grades seven through 12. A full size gymnasium will follow.

"We do know from our builder that we will have to break ground in the spring in order to get a roof on before fall and winter weather hits. But we really don't know if that's going to be spring 2024 or spring 2025," Johnson said. "It is just completely dependent on the generosity of our donors and what God provides through our fundraising efforts."

River Academy is a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school. The school started in 1998 with just nine students. 300 students are enrolled today.

Johnson says students, staff and members of the community have been enthusiastic about the project.

"We're just about to celebrate our 25th year and operations, super exciting."

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