The City of Ames wants to transform a former daycare site into a space for an animal shelter.
The Ames Animal Shelter, located at 325 Billy Sunday Road, has outgrown its current space. At 3,500, square feet, the facility does not provide enough space for the number and variety of animals it serves.
The Animal Shelter said the building is often filled with animals, which makes it difficult to isolate animals for disease control. The building struggles with insulation and ventilation issues, which creates moisture and does not provide comfortable living quarters.
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Where could the new animal shelter move to?
The city is considering a property at 2715 Dayton Avenue where the Eagle’s Loft Day Care used to operate until late 2024. The city said the building is almost three times the size of the current shelter.
The site encompasses nearly six acres of land anchored by a 10,880 square-foot, single-story building which includes a nearly 2,000 square-foot basement and a 26-stall parking lot.
Ames acquired a 90-day option to purchase the property for $1.1 million in late November and has until Feb. 25 to make a purchase.
Assistant City Manager Brian Phillips said city staff believes the facility is a “really good opportunity” that wouldn’t require much construction.
“We can get into a shelter building a lot more quickly than if we were to try to build a shelter from scratch,” Phillips said. “Additionally, we think we can get a little more bang for our buck in the space we would be able to utilize.”
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Current shelter not up to standard
The current animal shelter was built in 1994 and has not been significantly modified since.
A construction site job trailer was converted into additional cat housing several years ago to help alleviate some of the crowding issues.
The shelter was evaluated in 2019 and was deemed “not the kind of facility that is worth investing more in,” Phillips said. The animals would have to be temporarily removed from the building if the city chose to remodel and expand the facility.
Daycare facility has several amenities the city wants
The property on Dayton Avenue was built in 1995 but has been “very well taken care of,” Ames Police Chief Geoff Huff said.
The building has several features that would make it a viable space for an animal shelter, he said. The site already has a reception desk, offices, and conference room space at the front of the building. It also has a kitchen, food storage, laundry facilities, and concrete floors throughout the building. The classrooms would provide plenty of space for the various animals the facility takes care of while the fenced-in outdoor area would be a welcome addition.
Huff also said that the Dayton Avenue site has room for expansion as well.
“One thing about this property is it’s pretty open to the west,” Huff said. “If in the future we need to expand the actual building, it will be a lot easier at this location then at the current location.”
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How much would the animal shelter conversion cost?
City staff estimates it would cost roughly $4.4 million to convert the Dayton Avenue building into an animal shelter, which includes the acquisition, design plans, renovations and furnishings.
The Ames City Council included $100,000 in the adjusted FY 2024/25 city budget for the preliminary steps to develop the new shelter. The Ames City Council priorities capital fund is being used to finance the more immediate expenses like land acquisition.
City staff is proposing the remaining $1.5 million, about one third of the project cost, should be secured from donations.
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Dayton Avenue property will be evaluated
The Ames City Council has approved a contract with INVISION Architecture LTD in Des Moines, to evaluate the building at 2715 Dayton Avenue building. They will provide cost estimates and proposals for transforming the property into a shelter facility.
Staff anticipates the design consultant to complete the space evaluation work by the end of January, with the conceptual design and cost estimates ready in early February.
If INVISION believes the Dayton Avenue facility is impractical, the firm will create a contingency plan and cost estimates for a new shelter building on city-owned property near the water plant. A new, built-from-scratch facility would require a change order and a revised timeline before approval would be granted.
Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Where does Ames plan to move its animal shelter?