Two homes on Elm Street are being demolished as early as this week to make way for the construction of a walking path and reading garden adjacent to the new Troy Library building under construction.

Workers broke ground on the library site last summer without much fanfare, but the construction has attracted onlookers and garnered interest that Mayor Jimmy Lunsford said is positive.

“People like its orientation toward the downtown area and that there is a second front to the building facing Elm Street,” Lunsford said.

One of the homes to be torn down is 436 Elm Street. The house sustained severe structural damage during a fire on July 4, 2011. Two adults and three children escaped before the house became fully-engulfed.

The other house is 432 Elm Street and was occupied until recently.

Booth Enterprises was awarded the contract to destroy the structures and clear the land for $6,900. The company has already begun clearing part of the property.

In place of the already-downed trees and dilapidated buildings will be a paved area with benches that will accommodate about 50 people inside a gated garden. Access to the area will only be available through the library, planners say.

Lunsford said the library should be open to the public sometime in May.

“Everything is on schedule and we’re moving along just fine,” Lunsford said.

The library will be twice the size of the old facility and is a $3.5 million project.