Demolition underway on remains of burned buildings in Annandale

The buildings on Columbia Pike destroyed in a fire over a year ago are finally being demolished.

The main stumbling block for the delay has been Washington Gas, says May Han, the daughter of the property owners, Kee Cho Han and Ae Young Han.  

“We absolutely understand it’s been an eyesore,” May Han said. The failure to get the gas company to release the buildings for demolition “has been extremely frustrating.”

After the fire, the first thing that had to happen was a confirmation from the Fairfax County Fire Department that the buildings were safe to release to the owners, Han said. The fire department determined it was an accidental fire that started on the roof.

The next step called for the Hans’ insurance company and the insurance companies for all the tenants to release the buildings to the owner. That happened in September.

Fairfax County confirmed that the property owners didn’t need a permit to demolish what’s left of the structures, said May, who lives out of state.

May hired Demo King in November, but before they could start the work, they needed letters from the utility companies – Dominion Energy, Washington Gas, and Fairfax Water – to verify that it was safe to demolish the buildings.

Dominion and Fairfax Water sent letters in January saying the demolition could proceed but Washington Gas didn’t respond despite May’s repeated letters and phone calls.

“We called customer service, and they said we have to speak to the service abandonment department,” May said. “It was our understanding that the fire department turned off the gas when the fire happened. But we needed a letter from Washington Gas giving permission to demolish the building.”

“No one at service abandonment ever answered the phone,” May Han said. At one point, she called them 80 times in a row and they still didn’t respond. “We were never able to actually speak to a person.”

Meanwhile, the burned-out buildings have been the subject of numerous complaints from the public. Fairfax County filed a suit against the owners charging them with violating the state property maintenance code and the county’s Zoning Ordinance.

Related story: Fairfax County sues owners of burned buildings on Columbia Pike

“I get that it’s a violation but we have to do this safely,” May said. “If my contractor doesn’t verify that the gas is turned offer, they could be walking into danger. A gas leak could cause an explosion.”

May said Fairfax County code inspector Joan Maguire also contacted Washington Gas and even went in person to attempt to expedite the approval.

Finally, May got the letter from Washington Gas on April 11, and demolition started the next day. She never got an explanation from the company about why it took so long.

The whole process has been “a nightmare,” she said.

After the buildings are demolished and the site is paved, the Hans will find a tenant for a ground lease for the property. They already have a broker and had gotten inquiries from prospective tenants, but “to fully market the property it needs to be flat,” May said.

The owners haven’t figured out what to do about the two buildings on the property that didn’t burn. Those businesses – a Thai restaurant and a consignment shop – closed months ago.

“We need to focus first on getting rid of the building, then figure out how to rebuild,” she said.