BOARDMAN — A school that has been a fixture in the township for about 60 years is about to meet the wrecking ball.

“Market Street Elementary School will be demolished on March 22,” Jason R. Loree, township administrator, said during Monday’s trustees meeting.

Razing the school, which was built in the 1950s, will be the next major step toward building the Forest Lawn Stormwater Park project on the site at 5555 Market St.

Asbestos abatement had been done earlier this year on the building, Loree noted.

The project, estimated at $3.5 million, will entail an outdoor open-air pavilion with a laboratory in the front to allow middle school students to conduct a variety of science work. Those efforts include testing water quality samples and planting rain gardens, and the pavilion will be available to future generations, he said.

At the back of the property will be a retention pond capable of holding up to 1 million gallons of water, which will provide a place for water from the Cranberry Run Watershed to collect. That will significantly reduce flooding threats to homes and businesses along Market Street, Southern Boulevard and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as reduce erosion, Loree explained.

Also in the rear of the parcel will be a 1/3-mile, 10-foot-wide hike and bike trail equipped with lighting and security cameras, he continued.

About $750,000 of the project’s cost came from the state, Loree said.

He noted that additional funding was from H2Ohio, a water quality initiative Gov. Mike DeWine launched in 2019 to tackle decades-old, serious statewide water issues that include algae blooms on Lake Erie, poor drinking water and lead contamination from old and antiquated water pipes and fixtures. The initiative also is aimed at improving wastewater infrastructure.

After Market Street Elementary is razed, the stormwater project will enter the design phase, which should continue during the summer. Construction on the stormwater park could get underway late this year, the administrator said.

Loree also has invited DeWine, along with other state, federal and local officials, to visit the site when the school is torn down.

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