Wellesley’s 100-year-old Hardy Elementary School building is set to be demolished beginning later this month as the school system preps for the August opening of the new Hardy building adjacent to the old.

Emily Sarazin, a project manager with Vertex, said during the June 27 Permanent Building Committee meeting (see Wellesley Media recording, where Hardy discussion starts about 3 minutes in) that the planned demolition start date for the old Hardy building is July 8. Notices have been sent to abutters, she said.

Most stuff being saved from the inside of Hardy has been moved to Upham Elementary School, which is no longer serving as an elementary school with the arrival of the new Hunnewell Elementary School and Hardy Elementary School.

The 18-classroom, all-new construction 80,039 square-foot Hardy building is designed for an enrollment of 365 students, with the flexibility for space to be reconfigured to include a 19th classroom in the case of a “bubble” year. The design includes purpose-built spaces for the district-wide Skills Program, a highly individualized and modified curriculum for students with autism spectrum disorder and/or other related disabilities that present with similar challenges.

The new school’s groundbreaking took place in spring of 2023.

Much progress is being made internally and externally on the new building, with classrooms, the gym, and kitchen all coming along, per the Permanent Building Committee update.

The project is estimated to cost more than $72M, with a Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) reimbursement that will keep the town’s share under $60M.