Former Barn, Retail Space to Serve as New Home for Wayward Animals
Going once! Going twice! SOLD to the Humane Society of McDonough County (HSMC)!
On Saturday, May 16, the HSMC became the new owners of the property at 2000 West Jackson Street. The property, known as the Chambers Estate and which once housed Prairieland Rentals and other businesses, was purchased for $499,745 by the county humane society to retrofit the existing buildings: a timber-frame, two-story barn and retail/office spaces into a new shelter.
'The HSMC purchased the entire estate, and we will now assess utilization of each building to determine the best fit for the shelter's needs. While all buildings will probably not be used, the purchase allows us the amazing opportunity to develop in coming years,' HSMC President Bonnie Smith-Skripps shared. 'Our first focus will be on developing a plan for renovating the barn for the dog housing area and the retail building (now Munson’s Pool Supplies) for the reception/office area, as well as cat housing. '
According to Smith-Skripps, the humane society will continue to work with its contractual advisors to adapt the plans to this specific site. Those plans include a more enriching environment for the animals and enhanced safety for employees and volunteers, all while maximizing efficiency, she noted.
'The site we have purchased provides a significant increase in green space for animal exercise and enrichment. The various property structures allow for us to think differently about how animals will be housed, as well as how we will acquaint visitors with potential pets in a safe, and hospitable environment,' Smith-Skripps added.
While the new shelter will not increase the number of dogs and cats that can be housed, the separate housing areas for dogs and cats will be beneficial to their well-being and to those who come to the new shelter looking for a new pet, she pointed out.
'The idea of not having to crowd dog kennels and cat cages into one building was very appealing,' she said.
Currently, the HSMC, which has been raising funds for a new shelter for the last six years, had over $1.24 million in the new shelter building fund to purchase the property. The plan is to renovate in stages and continue to seek additional funding to continue to upgrade and enhance the county's shelter, Smith-Skripps said.
The HSMC will take possession by June 30. From there, they'll flesh out the final plan that will be shared with the general public, and will be the impetus for continued fundraising.
'The New Animal Shelter Building Committee had looked at numerous sites over the years, including sites for construction as well as existing buildings. When the Chambers Estate was presented to the committee as a potential site, we took an extensive tour and the pieces all came together,' Committee Member Kathy Waters answered. 'We saw the potential for high visibility, expanded green space, ample space to separate the dogs and cats. The site offered everything we needed; we just needed to look at it from a different perspective.'
Safety has always been a priority when planning for a new animal shelter and the design will incorporate safety features for the animals, staff, volunteers and visitors. The area in back of the barn will provide for safe dog walking paths and pen areas for play and meet-and-greets. They'll also explore fencing options to limit animal access to the highway.
'Finding a space to call our own and to actualize our plans for a new county shelter has been a long-time coming. We are thrilled to be able to begin the process of making a new animal shelter a reality. We are pleased with the partnership of the county, the city and the HSMC which enables us to bring this dream to fruition,' Smith-Skripps concluded. 'We will continue to solicit help and financial support from our community of animals lovers who have been so supportive of building a 21st century animal shelter. We had the funding to take this big step of purchasing the property, but do realize to make it what it can be, we will need more assistance. Our intent is to document progress and needs along the way to keep the public informed and involved. We will actualize our goal to make the new animal shelter a county resource of which we can all be proud.'
