WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Williams College plans to begin demolition of the old Williams Inn as early as the beginning of August, a school spokesperson said on Monday.

 

Last Thursday, the college installed chain-link fence around the perimeter of the building site at the junction of Routes 2 and 7.

 

Monday morning, Williams Director of Media Relations Greg Shook said the fencing was installed to allow hazardous materials abatement to begin inside the former inn built in 1974 on college land. The college purchased the building and business from the Faulkners in 2014. 

 

That abatement is scheduled to wrap up at the end of July with demolition to follow "soon after," Shook wrote in reply to an email seeking an update.

 

"Then [the college will] prepare the grounds (grass, seeds, etc.) in late September," Shook wrote. "We're still considering how the site may be used, and no plans have been made yet."

 

Last summer, the college opened the new Williams Inn at the bottom of Spring Street.