Wenatchee School District/Chelan County Plan to Build Mercado in Malaga Deemed Feasible

The Wenatchee School Board took a look at a feasibility study last week that centered on a possible partnership between the school district and Chelan County to build a mercado, or market, on a piece of district property in Malaga.

The property would potentially one day be re-purposed for an elementary school once Malaga has grown enough.

Business and Operations Director Janette Jeffris said that after reviewing a high level overview of the property's usage and overlay, it works.

"Nothing, from what we can see from a high level right now, that (Chelan County) would do to the property and how they would use it would negatively impact us as a school down the road," explained Jeffris.

Chelan County commissioners will review the project. If they like it, they will form a committee to begin discussions on a more detailed level. Wenatchee School District is hoping Chelan County comes to a decision on a committee around the end of the month.

Jeffris added that any deal would be extremely detailed and will need a lot of time and scrutiny.

Chelan County will reimburse the district for the cost of the feasibility study, which was done by TCF Architects.