Significant progress happening at the future home of Detroit Animal Care and Control
(CBS DETROIT) – The City of Detroit is closer to completing a new state-of-the-art facility for Detroit Animal Care and Control (DACC) on the east side.
The move to Russell and Ferry Streets is expected to help alleviate the overcrowding of the current DACC shelter at 7401 Chrysler Drive.
Their capacity is for 84 dogs and 25 cats, but as of Wednesday, the shelter is caring for 156 dogs, according to DACC.
As the shelter grapples with the issue, its euthanasia rates are eight percent higher than before the pandemic. This means that this year, around 2,000 animals will never make it to their forever home.
But down the road, the framing is up in what used to be part of a 15-acre waste facility.
"When you first come in, it's wide open, clear, inviting. We'll have a new reception desk here to the left, where people will introduce you. We also add a couple of rooms where you could meet and play with your dogs to see if they want to adopt them," Rhea Bautista, capital planning manager for the City of Detroit, said during a tour of the new space on Wednesday.
Soon, crews will be installing more than 200 kennels and finishing a new vet clinic, cat room, and other amenities, all to provide better care for the animals brought in.
"That was one thing the staff really wanted, is an enclosed area where they could pull in their trucks and be able to maneuver the dogs while taking them out of the trucks. Currently, the space in their garage is not big enough to be able to do that. So they have to do it outside, which could be a challenge sometimes," Bautista said.
At $6 million, repurposing the existing building and expanding it is saving the city money, considering the rise in construction costs.
"We were working hand in hand with the state to ensure that we were preparing a property or a location that would suit not only our animal control needs but also be compliant with the state regulations as it pertains to animal control," LaJuan Counts, Director of the Construction & Demolition Department for the City of Detroit told CBS News Detroit.
When the new facility does open by the end of the year, and all the animals are safely moved over, the plans are that the building on Chrysler Drive will be demolished.