Building a Better Way Home – part VII – the completion
By Robin Russell
Completed patio attached to Lulu’s Education Hall.
A question. Do you know the history of the Leslie A. Malone Center (formerly known as the Quebec Street Shelter)? It was originally built in 1974, expanded in 1986, again in the early 2000s, with the most extensive work having just been completed. Change is nothing new to the Dumb Friends League as we strive to address the ever evolving needs of the community, our animals and our spaces.
The groundbreaking for this recent project, called Building a Better Way Home, began in 2017, and four years later, it’s complete except for some landscaping and finishing touches. We’ve chronicled this latest journey here, and now we’ll look back with Jeannie Mabey, LEED AP and League project manager, who’s been our source of information throughout the project.
Jeannie said the construction could have been completed in 2 ½ years had we done all the phases concurrently. However, by executing it in phases, we kept the shelter 100-percent operative the whole time. She wants to thank the staff and volunteers for their patience and adaptability. Construction impacted every team at some point, and everyone handled their temporary digs with grace and positive attitudes. That’s a big part of what made the project successful. Her words were, “the people were amazing!”
Speaking of people, all told there were more than 100 sub-contractors involved with the project. During the busiest times there were often as many as 100 workers on site at a time, as well as the general contractor, Calcon. Some of the fields were electrical, mechanical, civil engineering, concrete, steel, HVAC, security, roofing, tiling, landscaping, window installing, finishing, painting and more.
For those who haven’t been here from the start, the work consisted of six distinct phases: 1) landscape and parking area increase; 2) demolition of the old dog kennels and addition of the new dog adoption pods, grooming, long-term medical cats, new laundry, new pet admissions, animal holding and transfer garage; 3) remodeling the old admissions area to become the new foster/behavior area, which involved veterinary services setting up a temporary shop there while their area was expanded as part of phase 4. Phase 5 finished up the remodel of foster and behavior. Phase 6 was added midway through the project and is now the 500 sq. ft. Lulu’s Education Hall (formerly Lulu’s Classroom/West Education Center). The two areas were combined with the hall that separated them into one big room that can be divided into three sections, each with a clear glass garage door leading to a covered patio. There is also a catering kitchen for hosting events, community meetings and classes.
Indeed, Building a Better Way Home was the perfect name for this project, as it provides the infrastructure for the League to increase its impact on animal care and treatment for many years to come for those that come in its doors and then into new homes.
