BEVERLY — The old Beverly High School will soon be gone, the victim of an assortment of steel-crushing excavators that have been demolishing the building since late November.
It's common to say that memories of a former school will last forever. But in this case, something more concrete than memories will survive — such as concrete.
Officials say that up to 90 percent of the debris from the demolished building could be recycled. The steel and other metals are being segregated and shipped to various locations to be melted down and reused. The concrete and other building materials are being crushed into a finer aggregate material and sold for reuse.
The recycling is part of the city's effort to achieve "green school" status as it completes its new high school project. That distinction, which city officials expect to achieve, will mean an extra $1.6 million in reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which is paying $46.8 million of the $81 million project.
Mike Collins, the city's Department of Public Services director, said the money is important, but so are the environmental and cost-saving benefits of building a green school.
"From the very beginning, we were committed to this building being as green as it could," Collins said.
Schools achieve "green school" status, and the accompanying economic incentive, based on a point system for increasing the energy efficiency and sustainability of new schools. Part of that point system includes recycling demolished material.
Lyle Coghlin of CTA Construction, the general contractor for the high school project, said the city will have no problem meeting the recycling goal because the old high school was so big, about 300,000 square feet.
"That's a substantial building coming down," he said.
Emily Mahlman, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts School Building Authority, said the "vast majority" of new public school projects in the state have achieved green school status.
The demolition is part of the final phase of the high school construction and renovation project that included the opening of a four-story academic wing next to the old school in November.
The demolition has attracted onlookers, some of whom attended school in the old building, which was built in 1965 and consisted of four wings off a main corridor.
Collins said some have asked for bricks as souvenirs. One man inquired about a classroom door on which he and his future wife had inscribed their names.
Collins did not attend Beverly High School, but he has his own emotional attachment to the old building. His grandfather was former Superintendent of Schools William Foley, whose name is inscribed on a plaque at the main entrance.
Collins said whatever emotion he has about the old building is superseded by the need for the new high school, which includes a renovated auditorium, cafeteria and field house. An artificial turf playing field will also be built starting in July.
"The city really needed that new building," Collins said. "It's well-built and well-designed."
Once the old school is completely torn down, it will be replaced by a parking lot and tennis courts. Collins said the work is scheduled to be done by December.
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by e-mail at pleighton@salemnews.com.
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