In what it’s calling a “much anticipated sign of construction progress,” MGM Resorts International has begun knocking down a former school building to make way for MGM Springfield, the $950 million resort casino that’s scheduled to open in Massachusetts, a few miles north of the Connecticut border, in late 2018.

MGM Resorts invited news reporters and photographers to view the demolition work Tuesday morning.

The former Alfred G. Zanetti Elementary School, heavily damaged by a 2011 tornado that ripped through Springfield’s South End, served as the backdrop for the March 2015 groundbreaking ceremony that marked the launch of the project. Since then, MGM has proceeded with related work, but only recently secured the environmental and zoning approvals needed to begin construction of the casino.

Final site preparations took place Monday, with demolition work commencing in the afternoon, MGM Resorts said in a news release. The demolition is expected to take several weeks.

MGM Springfield is to be built on 14.5 acres of land. Changes in its original design, including the elimination of a 25-story hotel tower and an overall reduction in square footage, have yet to be approved by the city.

The project is considered a threat to Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, whose owners, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes, respectively, have joined forces to pursue a third Connecticut casino in the Hartford area. The tribes are reviewing prospective casino sites in East Hartford, East Windsor, Hartford and Windsor Locks.

MGM Resorts is seeking to block the effort, filing a federal lawsuit over the legislation that authorized the tribes to accept site proposals. Once the tribes settle on a casino site, they would need to secure further legislation legalizing the operation of a commercial casino on non-reservation land.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck