WESTFIELD — The $62 million elementary school that will be built to replace Franklin Avenue and Abner Gibbs elementary schools became more of a reality this week when two abutting houses that were purchased by the city were slated to come down. The new school, which is being built on the existing Franklin Avenue school site, is projected to open in 2024.

The purchase of the houses at 131 and 129 Franklin St. made it possible to orient the new school’s entrance to Franklin Street (Route 20), minimizing the traffic in the residential neighborhood on Franklin Avenue, and allowing the construction of the new school to begin while the existing school is in session.

Although not part of the original project plans, the two properties became available when a private sale of 129 Franklin St. fell through, giving the city the opportunity to purchase the property; and the owner of 131 Franklin St. subsequently also agreed to sell to the city.

At a community open house last November, Bert Gardner of Caolo & Bieniek Associates of Chicopee said the original goals for the project also included increasing the presence of the school on Franklin Street. The two-story school design now faces Franklin Street and aligns with the Armory next door, with the north half of the parcel — the site of the current Franklin Avenue building — reserved for fields.

The new elementary school building will be brick with cut stones on the base, wood-look panels and pitched roofs on the front, to match the style of the New England neighborhood.

All students from Franklin Avenue and Abner Gibbs elementary schools will move to the new school at the same time, in 2024, another goal of the committee. Construction on the new school is expected to begin next winter.

The building committee plans to meet in person on the second Wednesday of every month at 5 p.m. beginning on April 13 with a meeting in Franklin Avenue Elementary School. All meetings will be open to the public.

The schools to be replaced are 68-year-old Franklin Avenue Elementary School and 105-year-old Abner Gibbs Elementary School, both of which serve Westfield’s downtown neighborhoods. The new building will include 88,000 square feet of floor space, including a media center, gymnasium and cafetorium designed to be used as community space during non-school hours.

The Massachusetts School Building Authority, a state agency, is expected to reimburse the city for about $31 million of the construction costs. The rest will be bonded and paid by local taxpayers.