AUBURN - You can make out the large, bare openings where a drive-thru window will go. Long, wooden beams create a frame for what will soon be new rooms.

Three weeks ago, the Wendy's restaurant on Grant Avenue was torn down, and now a new building is slowly forming on the foundation. An electrical fire on Feb. 18 caused extensive damage to the building.

"We had to knock the whole thing down, there wasn't much choice," said Pat Shaw Monday. Shaw is employed by T. Shaw, Inc. of Tully, the construction company in charge of the project. "And from there, we just started to rebuild everything."

The city planning board approved a plan for the new restaurant that includes a new drainage system. At 3,082 square feet, it will be smaller than the original building damaged in the blaze and it will be set back further from Grant Avenue. The new building will also be more energy-efficient and include a new lighting plan, according to Paul Sheneman, the project's engineer.

Despite the heat of the summer months, building plans have moved along.

Presently, workers are erecting the restaurant's frame, and chalked outlines mark where bathrooms and sinks will be located. By the middle of next week, workers hope to begin adding Sheetrock to the building. Shaw said the new fast-food restaurant should be complete in the next six weeks.

"It usually takes about two months to construct one of these buildings," Shaw said. "We are moving along. It may look a little different, but it will be a Wendy's."

There is no official date for when the restaurant will reopen and restaurant owner Anne Williams could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

Staff writer Ashley Lipsky can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or ashley.lipsky@lee.net