Roundy's, a longtime family-owned motor-sport dealership here, plans to close, and Mead School District has leased the dealership property with plans to move the bulk of its science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program there from the Riverpoint Campus east of downtown.

Pete Roundy, who owns the dealership with his wife, Merline, couldn't be reached immediately for comment, but the dealership's general manager confirmed the closure plans, which was triggered by Roundy's decision to retire.

The dealership property is located at 11008 N. Newport Highway and includes a 16,000-square-foot building, with 1,800 square feet of mezzanine space, plus about two acres of land. The school district has leased the property from the Roundys under a five-year agreement that includes an option to buy it, Deputy Superintendent Dan Butler says. Butler says the school district will take possession of the property July 1.

Founded in 1976 at 8029 N. Division, Roundy's was a longtime Kawasaki dealer here, but over the years has taken on a variety of other brands of new and used motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, utility vehicles, snowmobiles, and personal watercraft. It also has offered parts, accessories, and service.

The dealership operated at the North Division location for many years, but the Roundys acquired the property along the Newport Highway in 2004 through a land swap with Prineville, Ore.-based Les Schwab Tire Centers Inc., and constructed a much larger dealership there soon thereafter.

Butler says the dealership building is ideal for the district's purposes partly because it includes a shop area where district students can do prototype and fabrication work. He notes that it also is located somewhat between and close to the district's Mead High School and Mount Spokane High School.

Butler says, though, that a lack of space for future growth, rather than a location closer to the district's schools, was the primary factor that led to the district's decision to move the academy from the Riverpoint Campus.

The school district initially had leased about 3,000 square feet of classroom and lab space in the Innovate Washington building, at 665 N. Riverpoint, with the intent of increasing that to 10,000 square feet, he says. However, the space it was hoping to grow into later got snapped up by other tenants, leaving it essentially unable to expand, he adds.

"We're going to still keep a footprint down at Innovate Washington, so that we still have access to the campus and the community," he says, adding that it probably will continue to lease about 1,200 square feet of space there.

The school district had opened its Riverpoint Academy just last fall for 75 high school students. Starting the first year with juniors, it was scheduled this next school year to become a two-year STEM academy for a total of 150 juniors and seniors. Butler says that still is the case, but the growth will be occurring at the academy's new Mead-area location.

Butler had said last fall that by the third year, a portion of enrollment would open to students from other public school districts. In an interview last week, he said the ability to begin accepting students from other districts will be accelerated, because of the academy moving into the larger space, and that he foresees it being able to accommodate a total of as many as 300 to 350 students eventually.

Butler had said last fall that Mead has grown its STEM offerings in the past two years to include classes in biomed, engineering, aerospace engineering, and architectural engineering at the high school level. STEM programs also were growing at the middle schools and even included a fifth-grade STEM science class, he said. In the interview last week, he said it will be expanding its offerings in the coming year to include computer, manufacturing, and entrepreneurship instruction.

Alison Bantz and Jim Quigley, both of Spokane's Kiemle & Hagood Co., handled the transaction.