LEWISTON — Work to create a senior housing complex at the site of the former Martel School on Lisbon Street will begin this week, with demolition of the building scheduled for the spring.

Following a lengthy process to come to an agreement with city officials on the project, Lewiston Housing plans to turn the former school into affordable senior housing, starting with 44 units and potentially more in a second phase.

The estimated cost is $14.5 million.

According to Chris Kilmurry, executive director of Lewiston Housing, work to remove asbestos from the site will begin Thursday. It’s expected to take 30 days, and demolition should begin about 60 days later.

He said the timeline is an estimate given “many things could throw the true schedule off,” but they are hopeful demolition will begin within 90 days of the Thursday start date.

On Friday, Lewiston Housing posted an update on the project on its Facebook page, stating the “Martel Apartments will provide 44 new affordable homes for seniors in Lewiston.”

The post said Lewiston Housing is finalizing its application for low-income housing tax credits from MaineHousing “to make this vision a reality.”

In October 2023, the City Council agreed on an amended timeline for the development, which requires Lewiston Housing to begin the demolition work by Feb. 1 and finish by June 1.

Officials also agreed on city financial support for the project after initially balking at the proposal. The city will provide $200,000 toward the demolition after a bid came in higher than expected due to the required asbestos removal. The bid from St. Laurent & Son was $798,376, while the initial estimate was in the $400,000 range.

“I appreciate Lewiston Housing’s commitment to developing senior housing at the Martel site and I’m glad we are moving forward,” Mayor Carl Sheline said Monday.