A planned renovation of Willow Springs Elementary School is still on track, as Fairfax County officials extend a review period for the project.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted last Tuesday (Sept. 30) to extend the deadline for county review of the proposal to May 27, 2026. The board approved the extension as part of its administrative items with no discussion.
The school, which is located adjacent to Patriot Park North off Braddock Road, opened in 1990. It had 820 students enrolled for the 2024-25 school year, according to Virginia Department of Education data. The addition will give it a capacity of 1,050 students.
Planning and design, funded through a 2021 bond issuance, cost an estimated $4 million. Construction will be funded with $52.9 million from a school bond referendum approved by Fairfax County voters in 2023. Willow Springs was among six elementary schools slated to receive funding in the $435 million 2023 bond issuance.
The current school is about 90,000 square feet. The project calls for the demolition of 23,000 square feet and an addition of 61,000 square feet, resulting in a new building of about 127,000 square feet.
The additional space will be used for classrooms, a cafeteria, kitchen, gym, library, art labs and other facilities. Existing classrooms will also be renovated.
As part of the project, Fairfax County Public Schools is planning geothermal testing to see if there’s enough ground heat to power the school. If so, it would boost energy efficiency, lower energy costs and reduce the building’s carbon footprint.
School officials first submitted a site plan to the county in March and building plans on Sept. 26.
The county is examining the project as part of a state-required 2232 review. The moniker refers to a section of state law that mandates the compatibility of proposed public facilities with a locality’s comprehensive plan. The plan is a nonbinding document used by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to help guide land-use decisions.
The law lays out a requirement for a 60-day review period unless the local governing body grants an extension.
Accepted by county planning staff on Aug. 27, the 2232 application for the Willow Springs renovation had an initial review deadline of Oct. 26. County staff indicated they might not need the entire extended review time, but recommended an extension as a proactive approach.
According to FCPS’ project page, construction is expected to start in September 2026 and wrap up by summer 2028. But that schedule depends on the county approving the 2232 review and other permits in a timely fashion.
“The Project is critically important to the Willow Springs Elementary School community and our design schedule is dependent on
this determination,” D.B. Combs, a capital projects senior manager for FCPS, said in an Aug. 11 letter to Fairfax County Director of Planning and Zoning Tracey Strunk as part of the application.
