School district purchases Bethel street property

COLUMBIA — Columbia Public Schools has bought a former day care facility at 4600 Bethel St. for $1.4 million.

Using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus, funds to purchase the property, the Columbia School Board negotiated with the property owners to agree on a price.

“We’ve been discussing the purchase of this property for almost a month," said Nick Boren, chief operations officer for the district. "The owners of the property wanted $1.7 to $2.1 million. The Board of Education decided to make an offer and to not exceed $1.4 million.”

The School Board is not yet sure how the 16,186-square-foot building will be used.