The Bellevue School District’s board of directors unanimously voted to purchase a Northeast First Street property from Tru G. Wilhelm Inc. for $12 million. The vote was made at the school board’s March 4 regular meeting.

Purchase of 12011 N.E. First St. — adjacent to the district’s office — would allow the district to move administrative services out of the Wilburton Instructional Service Center in order to make Wilburton available for future campus expansion, Superintendent Tim Mills said.

“After really going through analysis and looking for … property that could be used for a school site, looking for a centralized property, our concern is that the property this center (Wilburton) is sitting on is really prime property that could be used for a school,” Mills said.

Funds for the purchase were taken from an account separate from the general fund, established from the 1983 sale of the land that became Bellevue Downtown Park.

“We believe that as we look for other sites and continue our planning process that this property that we are on is going to be a valuable part of that puzzle that we’re going to be working to try to solve as part of future student needs,” Mills said.

Board member Christine Chew said it would be a “tremendous asset” to have Wilburton available for school space.

In a statement of concurrence, Steve McConnell added he thought the district had gotten a good deal.

“Finding 10 acres of centrally located property in Bellevue is a dicey proposition so … I feel really pleased about this opportunity to make good use of the district’s resources,” McConnell said.