Daphne High School officials hope to move students out of portable classrooms with the recent purchase of a church building situated adjacent to the school on Lawson Road.

The Baldwin County Board of Education had purchased the building — formerly the Eastern Shore Christian Center — for $4.5 million.

BCBE purchased the building within the past two weeks, eight months after having been approached with the idea, Terry Wilhite, Baldwin County Board of Education director of communications, said.

“We were definitely interested in buying the property,” Wilhite said. “First, it is adjacent to our property, and the ultimate benefit of the purchase is the total elimination of portables at DHS.”

The high school has 10 portable classrooms that can hold 25 to 30 students during one class. One portable is an office, one is for on-campus suspension, and the remaining eight are classrooms, according to Principal Don Blanchard.

The building will house most of the fine arts curriculum, including art, choral classes and band, Wilhite said.

Some classes that meet in the portables will move to the church facility, while others will move into the school as classes are alleviated, Blanchard said.

“Another major benefit is the large room that it gives us, because before this purchase, we didn’t have a room that would accommodate that many people in one location,” Wilhite said.

The sanctuary can seat about 700 people, according to Wilhite.

The building will benefit the whole school system, Wilhite said.

This past week, the BCBE used the room for a meeting between community business and career technology leaders, Wilhite said.

However, before DHS can make it a home for students and classes, renovations and improvements worth about $250,000 must be completed, according to Wilhite.

The building currently has 20 “classroom” spaces. Some rooms must be enlarged and the building must be wired with a bell and notification system; it also must be connected to the computer network, Wilhite said.

“We think the renovations will take place between six and eight months,” he said.

Floor plans have not been finalized, Wilhite said.