Apparently the wrecking ball is in the near future for the
city-owned animal shelter at 2760 S. Platte River Drive.
Rick Kahm, public works director, explained the aging building
has been sitting empty since December when the Colorado Humane
Society ceased operations at the facility as Englewood shifted the
care of lost and stray animals to the newly-established Humane
Society of the South Platte Valley.
“The building is old and in such bad shape that it probably
wouldn’t be worth trying to repair and remodel it for another use.
However, in the process of looking to improve the Englewood
ServiCenter, the suggestion was to demolish the old animal shelter
in order to make a new entrance into the service yard,” Kahm told
the city council at the Feb. 1 study session. “Particularly during
snow-removal operations, the benefit would be the equipment would
have direct access to the sand-salt storage area.”
He added that the new entrance also would enhance security at
the ServiCenter because the main gate would not have to remain open
all night during snow-removal operations.
After the city council gave consensus approval to the plan, Kahm
said it would take a while to do the preparations but he expects
the building to be demolished by late February.
The building was constructed as an animal shelter in the late
1960s as a facility the city operated. It was small and consisted
of an office and a few kennels.
In the mid 1980s, the city began working with the Colorado
Humane Society and expanded the building to almost double its
original size.
There were additional modifications to the building’s heating
and ventilation system a couple years later but the facility was
always considered too small and not adequate as a regional animal
shelter.
