Photo Provided by Taylor Abbott Crews begin demolition of the old Clarington school building on Tuesday morning. The process is expected to continue through the week.

CLARINGTON — Demolition of the former Clarington school building is now underway, more than a week ahead of schedule.

Raze International crews began knocking down the north side of the building just after 8 a.m. Tuesday. Taylor Abbott, Monroe County treasurer and chairman of the county Land Reutilization Corp. or land bank, said crews are utilizing two large pieces of equipment in tandem to demolish the 14,500-square-foot building that dates back to 1925. It was originally Salem High School until 1955, when it was reduced to an elementary school until its closing in 1988. The building has been vacant since a preschool located there was closed in the early ’90s.

Abbott said crews were able to complete the initial material removal and asbestos abatement earlier than anticipated leading to the start of the demolition work this week.

He said the demolition will be completed in phases over the next five days or so.

“They’re not going to collapse the whole building at once. They’re starting on the north end and they work their way over gradually. It’s almost an art form the way they do it — they demo one wall then another and then push another wall over so it lays in on itself. It’s pretty amazing how they do it,” he said.

Once the demolition phase is complete, crews will begin the cleanup of the rubble. Abbott said crews will pile the bricks that will later be given to interested residents.

The Salem High School name stones over the building entrances will be salvaged amid the demolition process. He wants to assure residents that the signs will be retrieved.

“They’re (crews are) going to take the upper floors off the building and over top the door then they will be able to get in there and cut those out,” he said. “The top of the building has to come down first though.”

It is still being determined what will happen to the name stones once removed.

Now that demolition is underway, Abbott said no one is allowed to access the site besides the contractors. He said they are also trying to limit the road congestion from onlookers, as it could hinder residents from getting to and from their homes as well as crews from accessing the site.

The demolition of the former Beallsville school building is set to take place once the Clarington work is complete. The building, which is now owned by the Beallsville 1st and Goal Club, was constructed in the 1920s. It operated as a school until its closing in 2011. The project includes abatement of asbestos, demolition of the building, capping of utilities, and erosion control and restoration. The club plans to redevelop the site following the project’s completion.

Abbott said crews have had issues with keeping people from entering the old school building. He said the contractor is working to secure the site.

“We ask the public not to enter these buildings. They are not safe. The air quality within and just the general condition of the buildings is not safe for people to be in,” he said.

Abbott said crews will collect bricks from both buildings for interested residents.

“We’ll be able to give these to people in a safe way without them needing to go to the site,” he said.

The county land bank was able to secure around $956,000 in grant funding for the remediation and demolition of the two projects.

“It’s been a long time coming when you get down to it. These buildings, especially Clarinigton, it’s sat vacant for so many years. It’s bittersweet to see it go. It’s been a centerfold of our town, in Clarington’s history, since 1925. But it’s just not salvageable at this point and for every ending, there’s a new beginning. We hope the (Monroe County) Port Authority and the site will have a future that betters the community, and the same for Beallsville,” he said.