Down goes Wellesley’s 100-year-old Hardy Elementary School
The demolition of Wellesley’s 100-year-old Hardy Elementary School building began on Tuesday, July 9, as seen in this dramatic footage of the chimney going down.
(Thank you to a Swellesley reader for sharing these videos… and to another reader for letting us know the demo had begun: That’s how we crowdsource!)
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The school system is prepping for the August opening of the new Hardy building adjacent to the old.
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 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.