DETROIT – The hard hats were everywhere, and the sound of concrete being pulled up rumbled through the day.
What was once the offices of the Detroit incinerator are now getting a significant makeover to house the city’s abandoned animals.
“It’s always a big lift when you’re undertaking a renovation project,” said Detroit’s Director of Construction and Demolition LaJuan Counts.
The lift has been slowed down by COVID and supply chain delays, but the city has made significant progress in the renovation.
That concrete that’s being torn out was necessary to put in a drainage system that can accommodate up to 200 dogs. Plus, a new veterinary area and an area to isolate sick animals.
The ceiling is being fitted to handle upgraded ventilation, so it smells better and moves diseases out.
That’s just one-half of the building. The other will house all the people it takes to keep the operation up and running.
“What really keeps me going is seeing the end result,” Rhea Bautista told Local 4 while showing us around.
Bautista is the city’s capital planning manager. Together, those two women oversee and implement hundreds of millions of dollars worth of projects.
Both know how needed new space for animal control is. The current facility is old and decrepit, and the smell inside is indescribable.
The space, ventilation, and drainage are wholly inadequate, and it’s like a dungeon.
Both are pushing hard to get the new facility online by the end of the year. It won’t solve Detroit’s abandoned animal issue. After all, that’s a people problem.
It will, however, offer those animals and the people charged with caring for them and finding new homes a clean, safe, and welcoming environment.