Crews are planning to demolish a building on the campus of W.T. Woodson High School that was engulfed by flames earlier this year.

An hours-long fire consumed an administrative building facing Main Street in the early morning hours of Jan. 30. Part of the roof and an external wall collapsed, WTOP previously reported.

A spokesperson for Fairfax County Public Schools said the damage was “beyond repair” during the fire.

There is no word yet on what’s in store for the site once it is demolished. It’s unclear when demolition will begin, although county permits were processed in March.

“Plans will be submitted if there is to be a rebuild,” FCPS spokesperson Julie Moult wrote in a statement.

Fire investigators did not conclusively determine what caused the fire, which was accidental in nature and started in an office. The fire caused roughly $8.8 million in damages.

The building was used for ground maintenance and operations support, a locksmith, stock room, offices, a break room, and storage.

The vision for a mixed-use development — formerly known as Midline — is coming to life at Michael Faraday Drive.

Bethesda-based developer EYA plans to demolish an office building at 1840 Michael Faraday Drive within a month or so to make way for a seven-story apartment building with 229 units and around 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

EYA project manager Alexander Collich said demolition permits are currently processing for the site, and the building has already been decommissioned. Collich presented the project design to Reston Association’s Design Review Board at a meeting Tuesday night.

Although the presentation was only informational with no vote required, DRB members lauded the architect for the design of the building.

Michael Wood, president of the board, said the proposal depicted a “beautiful-looking building.” Others called the mix of colors and materials on the building interesting and appropriate.

But member Bruce Ramo lamented that the site — which is near where he works — is packed with so much density.

“That is a ship that is long gone,” Ramo said.

The site is part of a major mixed-use development that courted two big-name developers in the region: JBG Smith and Chevy Chase Land Company.

EYA began building 115 townhouses as part of The Townhomes at Reston Station in the summer of 2020. The project has since been completed.

Once completed, the project will include close to 1.8 million square feet of development spread across 18 acres. Fairfax County approved the project in 2018.

A new self-storage facility could take the place of an existing warehouse in the Town of Herndon.

Security Public Storage is hoping to get the town’s blessing to demolish a warehouse at 331 Victory Drive to build a self-storage facility.

The existing warehouse was built in 1965 and is currently divided into tenants’ spaces and rough metal edging.

So far, town staff say they’re in favor of the preliminary proposal. In an April 1 report, town staff said the new facility seems to “soften” the current building’s “stark industrial facades further.”

“Efforts seem to have been made to break up and soften the basic industrial design of the building,” the report says.

The application requires more planning approvals because it is part of a zoning map amendment.

The town’s Architectural Review Board will discuss the project at a meeting on Thursday (April 21) at 7:30 p.m. in the Herndon Town Council’s chambers. The board will then provide findings to the town’s Planning Commission for additional discussion.

The opening of Pupatella, a Neapolitan pizzeria, in 2020 marked the end of an era for McTacoHut, the name Restonians had for a block of fast food outlets on Wiehle Avenue with Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and McDonald’s.

More changes could be on the horizon, as Taco Bell proposes to rebuild its current location at 11257 Roger Bacon Drive with a more modern restaurant with an additional drive-thru lane.

The company is seeking Fairfax County’s permission to demolish the existing 2,309-square-foot restaurant and replace it with a 2,722-square-foot building. The extra space is primarily to accommodate a larger freezer.

The more modern building will feature gray cement siding and metal panels with accents. The company also wants to reduce the number of seats for customers by 10, allowing for a total of 52 seats.

In order to meet demand, an additional drive-thru lane would be added. A patio is also planned with 13 seats.

“The additional drive-through lane will allow the applicant to provide a more efficient customer experience and respond to trends at quick service retail facilities, which are seeing increased demand for drive-through space utilization, particularly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the company wrote in the application that the county received on Feb. 16.

The company did not immediately respond to requests from FFXnow for comment.

The application is in the early phases of the county’s approval process and has not yet been formally accepted for review by staff.