By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – If things go as planned, the city of St. Louis will have a new and improved animal shelter in about two years.
Construction on the $4 million project is expected to begin in early 2008.
When the old south shelter was built in the 1940s, its function was to capture and euthanize stray dogs. It's called the "Animal Regulatory Center".
The new shelter will have a new name and a new location at I-44 and Arsenal.
The hope is that a nicer facility combined with a better location will promote higher adoption rates.
Ed Throop, chairman of the Animal House Fund, will be raising the funds to pay for the project.
"The old facility receives between 4,000 and 5,000 animals per year," Throop said. "Unfortunately they have to euthanize almost 60 percent of them. There just isn't enough time, the facility isn't properly located to find homes for these animals."
Construction will begin when $3 million of the $4 million cost has been raised.
The new facility, designed by the St. Louis architectural firm HOK, will offer increased capacity as well as a more modern, humane environment for the animals. Kelly Hawkins is the director of the current shelter.
"The new shelter will provide better conditions for the pets, for the employees, for the community when they come in."
Additionally, the project will be the first LEED-certified green building operated by the city of St. Louis.