Construction set to resume on P.E.I. Humane Society's 'fear-free' shelter
CBC
The P.E.I. Humane Society is restarting the construction of its new shelter in Charlottetown after increased costs forced the organization to pause work on the project last fall.
"Inflation was just outpacing our fundraising efforts," said Ashley Travis, development and communications co-ordinator with the P.E.I. Humane Society.
"We wanted to make sure that the project itself wasn't going to impact operations at the shelter. That's our first priority, always."
Since pausing construction, Travis said the humane society worked with the provincial government and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to get more funding for the project.
"In the next couple of weeks, we'll have trucks on site."
The money from the province and ACOA is new, Travis said. The initial funding for the construction, about $3.8 million, was raised through private donations and community organizations.
The federal agency is providing $535,000 and the province is kicking in $350,000. Finance P.E.I., a provincial Crown corporation for economic development, has also loaned the humane society $2 million for the construction.
Before work was paused, the shelter planned to open the new building this fall. Now, that date looks more like spring or summer of 2025, Travis said.
The new building, which sits behind the humane society's existing location on Sherwood Road, has a roof and walls, but inside there's not much done, Travis said.
"It's sort of a big open space at the moment, with a slab poured."
Now, crews are there prepping the site for construction to resume.
When it's done, the building will have geothermal heat, a specialized HVAC system and other features to meet a "fear-free design standard," Travis said.
"Animals need a less stressful environment to stay in. Especially when they're in a shelter environment. They're away from home. They're away from what they've known in the past," she said.
That fear-free standard has become the goal of many shelters across the country, she said, and takes into account what animals will experience in a space, and things that could scare them.