PEABODY — Construction will finally start on a new charter school going up on the Danvers-Peabody line along Pulaski Street.
This week, crews were seen demolishing the former Onion Town Grill building on Water Street in Danvers and a home next door in Peabody on the old Babiarz Farm lot to make way for Pioneer Charter School of Science II.
The school will be the second K-8 lower school in the Pioneer Charter School system. One already operates in Everett, and two upper schools enrolling mainly high schoolers are in Everett and Saugus.
The Peabody location is expected to open in September 2026, school spokesperson Dominic Slowey said.
Pioneer Charter School prioritizes STEM education and was founded in 2007.
Although the new Peabody building hasn’t been built yet, the new school opened in September 2022 at the former St. Mary’s School building on Chapman Street in Beverly for students in kindergarten, first and second grades.
Currently, the school has 300 K-5 students at that site, Slowey said. A sixth grade will be added next year and seventh and eighth grade classes will also come down the line.
The new school originally planned to open in the fall of 2023, having secured the main approvals it needed from municipal boards in Peabody and Danvers back in 2022 after facing backlash from neighbors who were concerned traffic issues in the area would worsen with its construction.
A delay in selling the land pushed back the start date of construction, Barish Icin, the CEO of Pioneer Charter School of Science, told The Salem News in 2023.
That sale was finalized in August 2023 at a combined price of $3.3 million.
The new two-story building will span about 53,000 square feet and will feature 35 classrooms, six special education and English language learning classrooms, labs, art and music rooms, a gym, a cafeteria and 12 offices, Slowey said.
Plans originally showed a building footprint of 66,000 square-feet, but the change comes with no major modifications to the layout, he said.
It will be built through a modular approach. The method is faster than traditional construction and will allow for the school to open on time for fall 2026, Slowey said.
The school will officially be at 67 Pulaski St., but will encompass the Onion Town Grill lot on Water Street in Danvers.
The restaurant closed in the spring of 2024. It had operated at the site since 2007.
Contact Caroline Enos at CEnos@northofboston.com.