Memorial will honor students and teachers killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting
The memorial is set to be finished next year, 10 years after the shootings, reports ABC 7 Eyewitness News.
The shooting took place on Dec. 14, 2012; a shooter forced his way into the school and killed 20 first graders and six educators.
The memorial will feature a water feature with a sycamore tree in the middle. The names of the victims will be engraved on top of the surrounding supporting wall. The water flow has been designed so floatable candles, flowers and other objects will move toward the tree and circle around it. Pathways will take visitors through a variety of plantings, including flower gardens.
The project faced several challenges after the town created a special commission to oversee the memorial planning in 2013. Some proposed sites were rejected, including one near a hunting club where gunshots could be heard.
Officials cut the cost of the project from $10 million because of concerns voters would not approve it.
At a town referendum in April, residents approved spending $3.7 million on the memorial by a vote of 963 to 748.
SWA Group is the architect.