Larimer Humane Society breaks ground on new shelter
Larimer Humane Society broke ground Wednesday on a new facility you're helping pay for every time you go shopping.
Site plans for the 38,000-square-foot facility located just north of the Northern Colorado Regional Airport — which recently changed its name from Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport — were revealed in August. But Wednesday's groundbreaking is a tangible step in creating a facility three times larger than the humane society's existing shelter and administrative building on Kyle Avenue in south Fort Collins.
The facility will open in approximately 18 months. Larimer County, which controls the funds from the sales tax increase, has contracted with Mortenson Construction to build the new shelter.
Larimer County voters approved by a 52 to 48 percent margin a tax increase in November 2014, pledging 1 cent on every $10 spent on certain purchases, excluding gas and groceries. The tax will sunset after six years or as soon as $13 million in construction, financing and bond issuance costs is collected.
ADOPT: Adoptable animals from the Larimer Humane Society
As of Wednesday, Larimer Humane Society had raised nearly $1.5 million of the remaining $2.1 million in private funds for the facility, said Jane Sullivan, chairperson of the nonprofit's capital campaign, Building a Better World for Pets.
Larimer Humane Society Executive Director Judy Calhoun said the new facility will allow the nonprofit to help more animals and take on more severe cases. This week, the shelter took in 10 dogs rescued from a South Korean meat farm. Calhoun said the dogs have progressed "from complete shutdowns to being willing to explore parts of their new world" in the few days they've been at the shelter.
"That is the kind of thing that this new building will help us do even more of," she said. "Just imagine the lives we'll be able to save and the difference we'll be able to make."
Larimer Humane Society had 2,791 adoptions in 2015.
Animal Protection and Control, which is contracted by Larimer County, handled 20,010 calls last year. Larimer Humane Society is obligated to provide animal control and other government services to the county for at least 30 years because of the sales tax funds being used to build the new shelter.
The new facility will allow administrative and shelter staff to operate in the same building. There will be separate entrances for adoption and intake, allowing stray pickups, owner surrender and owner-requested euthanasia to occur earlier in the day.
Housing for dogs and cats will be larger and more flexible, granting dogs multiple pavilions and cats an enclosed outdoor area.
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The facility will also be more nimble if a disease outbreak occurs, with an isolation area for contagious animals and the flexibility to convert housing areas into isolation areas.
An enhanced veterinary services space will include a dental suite.
The 26-acre plot of land is located on the south side of Larimer County Road 30 between Timberline Road and Interstate 25. It will feature a 2-acre public dog park, shelter, multipurpose building, storage facility and a barn.
The fate of the current 42-year-old shelter at 5317 Kyle Ave. remains unclear. Spokeswoman Kaylene Weingardt said the nonprofit is working with a real estate broker to decide what to do with the facility, which was built in 1969.
Taking the building down, which Calhoun previously told the Coloradoan is "what needs to happen," would require costly asbestos mitigation because of the building's age.
About the tax increase
How much: 1 cent on every $10 sales tax increase on applicable purchases, excluding gas and groceries
How long: Sunsets after six years or as soon as $13 million in construction, financing and bond costs is collected
Who controls the money: Larimer County will control the funds and construction process because the funds are sales tax dollars.
Who owns the building: Once open, Larimer Humane Society will have ownership of the building. A deed of trust and promissory note obligates the nonprofit to provide animal control and other government services for at least 30 years. If it fails to meet that obligation, Larimer Country can foreclose on the building and take the land it sits on, which was purchased by Larimer Humane Society in 2007.
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