A purchase and sale agreement has been finalized for North Idaho Classical Academy to anchor the redevelopment of the 80-acre mixed-use zone behind the Boundary County Fairgrounds. 

NICA officials and a legal team from Idaho Forest Group, representing property owner Marc Brinkmeyer, closed the deal July 8 to transfer ownership of 5 acres and the old planer building to the academy. 

As part of the agreement, the academy will preserve and recognize various historical sites and artifacts on the property, which began as a sawmill over 100 years ago, said NICA president Jacob Francom. 

Both parties praised the other as great partners during the process of finalizing the deal. Francom said Brinkmeyer’s team has been a “tremendous” partner, and Tera King, IFG resource analyst who helped facilitate the deal, said that experience, passion and momentum has shined through for the NICA team. 

“We recognized pretty immediately that this is a great way to anchor that property and have a solid partner that can set an example of how that area can be developed,” King said. 

She added that the city of Bonners Ferry deserves credit in the process by helping the parties get through zoning and code requirements. 

NICA plan moving forward 

After closing in late August, the 10-month construction process will begin immediately to ensure doors open for the 2026 school year. Francom said the building will be one story with a modern interior.  

“We have a great architect,” he said. 

Francom added that it is imperative to start construction in early September, so interior construction will be possible during the winter. Construction will be contracted locally. 

The student enrollment lottery will begin in November. If there are more kids signed up than there are available seats, the lottery will run in early March. There are currently 240 seats available. 

In the first year, the school will be K-7. Each year following, a new class will be added until the school is K-12, with a maximum capacity of 390 students. 

Right after closing, Francom said the school will also begin the process of hiring teachers. There are 22 teaching positions and about 20 support staff positions. 

“Things are picking up and getting exciting for us,” Francom said. “It's been a lot of work in the making, but we're getting closer to getting the school open.” 

Regular board meetings are held online on the last Wednesday of each month. 

King said the development of NICA on the 80-acre vacant lot will hopefully spur additional interest from other developers. 

“It’s a good start, and we’ll see where it goes,” she said. “We have some work to do to make it the vision people have in mind, to make it a pedestrian-friendly, well-landscaped area by the river.”