AUGUSTA -- The sale of part of the former Cony High School site to be developed as a Hannaford supermarket is now a done deal.

The city and developer Cony LLC closed the deal Wednesday.

The deal netted the city $1.5 million and the developer an approximately six-acre site to serve as home to a proposed new Hannaford supermarket.

The sale doesn't include the historic Cony flatiron building, which the city kept. The deal was only for the rear portion of the property, which includes the newer section of the former high school.

The developer of the proposed project has a long-term lease agreement with Hannaford Bros., which plans to build a new supermarket on the site.

Demolition is expected to start in the coming weeks, possibly as soon as next week, according to City Manager William Bridgeo.

"The final closing of this real- estate transaction begins the terrific process of rejuvenating an iconic corner of our city, and I am delighted that we are now able to proceed," Bridgeo said in a news release.

Still to be finalized is how the $1.5 million in sale proceeds would be used. The city agreed to use the funds to benefit the new Cony High School, but beyond that, the details still need to be worked out and approved by the courts.

On March 18 the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld a lower court ruling that determined selling the 1964 addition of the former high school would not violate Daniel Cony's purpose, in giving the land to the city, of educating the youth of Augusta.

The issue was the subject of a citywide referendum approving the project in June 2005, as well as ongoing litigation, including three decisions of the Law Court, all favorable to the City of Augusta. Stephen Langsdorf, the city's attorney, represented the Augusta throughout the lengthy litigation, as well as the closing on Wednesday.

"We are very pleased to have four years of contentious legal proceedings behind us, and to be able to move forward with a new chapter in city history," Langsdorf said in the release.

Hannaford officials have said they intend to have the proposed new supermarket certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as a "platinum-level LEED building," its highest designation. Hannaford, officials said, would be the first supermarket to meet that industry standard.

Hannaford officials anticipate construction will last about a year.