The Regina Humane Society is getting closer to finally having a new home.
Bill Thorn, the director of marketing and public relations with the Humane Society, said construction on their new Animal Community Centre located in Harbour Landing is nearing completion.
“We are getting tantalizing close after 15 years of planning,” he stated. “We are just getting down to a number of months before we are open to being able to be there and open our doors to the public.”
“Our construction schedule is pretty much on-time. We expect at this point that the building will be completed likely in mid-to-late spring or perhaps even early summer before we are in there.”
Thorn said before opening their doors to the public, their staff and the animals would have to get used to their new home.
“We will have a fairly extensive period of moving equipment, the animals, and training staff,” he said. “The new building will have some new equipment and systems in it that will have to get our staff trained up on. If everything stays the way it is, we should be open to the public, hopefully sometime in September.”
The centre saw constriction begin in May of last year and will offer a safe refuge for homeless pets and an adoption gallery with home-like habitats for dogs and cats, an education center, a veterinary hospital, a dog park, a training centre, and more.
After over a decade of planning and looking to move from their current location, Thorn said the move is starting to feel real.
“For so many years, it was just a thought and idea, and what about this, could we do this, do that, and then it was several more years of looking at things on paper and working with architects and designers,” he said. “The first time we actually walked into another building, even though it is still under construction, it became very real and very exciting.”
The project’s total cost was estimated at $28 million.
