Demolition begins for Willetts Middle School

BRUNSWICK — Around four years after Edwards and Visintainer middle schools were torn down, demolition began on Willetts Middle School. The site of Willetts will soon be occupied by a new maintenance building and board of education office. Edwards and Visintainer have already been demolished so the area can house the new Brunswick Middle School. Brunswick Schools Superintendent Jason Niedermeyer said Willetts closed during the peak of the pandemic. The Medina County Health Department had guidelines for social gatherings and the district could not host a formal closing or tour of the building. Since then, Brunswick Schools repurposed parts of Willetts, he said. The HVAC system was taken out of the building and used elsewhere in the district to save on repair costs. As a result, there was a safety concern for air quality inside the vacant building because it has not had air circulation. "We pretty much were told by our insurance company to not let anyone into the building," Niedermeyer said. The demolition on the interior of the building began last week, while tearing down the exterior started this week, he said. Demolition is expected to take three to four weeks, and the site will be cleared afterward. "I don't anticipate us necessarily building the new maintenance department until the early fall or late fall," Niedermeyer said. "That's where we're at right now." The district received its conditional zoning certificate for the maintenance building and the board of education office earlier this month from the city, he said. The construction is part of the district's effort to finish its facilities master plan. It is included in the bond issue voters passed in May 2023 to build a new Brunswick High School. The new high school will be located where Towslee Elementary School currently is. Niedermeyer said the demolition of Towslee is expected to begin next week. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.