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DULUTH — Demolition of Central High School, the hilltop school that has sat empty for about a decade, is set to begin next week, according to Duluth Public Schools administrators.
Crews are scheduled to begin hauling necessary equipment to the site on Monday, according to Dave Spooner, the school district's facilities manager. A press event is tentatively scheduled Friday at the school site, according to Adelle Wellens, a district spokesperson. The exact day when the demolition will start in earnest is unclear.
Spooner said the demolition should take about six weeks.
School district leaders in August agreed to sell the mothballed school, which sits at 800 E. Central Entrance, for $8 million, a notch more than the $7.9 million listed price. Similar efforts that would have yielded higher sale prices fell through in 2015, 2016 and 2021.
The buyer is Chester Creek View LLC, a company linked to several others that have spent tens of millions on other Duluth real estate buys.
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The district kept about 22 acres at the 77-acre school site, though. On that remaining land, construction crews are building a new district headquarters and bus garage. Nearby, a building that used to house industrial arts classes is set to be the new base of operations for Duluth Public Schools’ facilities and maintenance workers.
The school was built in the 70s but has been empty since 2011, when it was closed as part of the district’s long-range facilities plan, also known as the Red Plan. School board members in July approved an $810,000 proposal to demolish it put forth by Veit & Co., a regional construction company.
