It doesn't look like much now, but about 100 people gathered at a vacant lot in the city's south end Tuesday morning to break ground on the future home of the Guelph Humane Society.
“If I had a tail, I would be wagging it today," said Dr. Shane Bateman, chair of the the Guelph Humane Society board of directors, in his remarks to the crowd.
Bateman told GuelphToday If not for the recent announcement of a $5 million donation from Stu and Kim Lang, the project would still be in the vision stage.
Steel and concrete are already on order and the first earth was turned Tuesday during a ceremony on the site in the Hanlon Creek Industrial Park on Hanlon Creek Boulevard.
"That gift has allowed us to transform the vision into a beautiful reality for the future of our community,” said Bateman.
He hopes work will begin on the site in a matter of days, with work to continue through the winter.
The new facility will be 18,000 square-feet on 2.7 acres of land. Construction is expected to take about a year to complete.
The Langs were not on hand for the ceremony on Tueday, but were thanked many times at the podium.
“We are so lucky to have them as members of our community," said Mayor Cam Guthrie in his remarks. "They have given back and built up this city in so many different ways."
Through the Langs' Angel Gabriel Foundation, the University of Guelph has received more than $50 million in donation over the years, including a $21 million donation in April.
Guelph Humane Society executive director Adrienne McBride told GuelphToday that the Langs are animal lovers and worked over the summer to work out the details of the donation.
“That is half of our goal that we wanted to raise for this project," said McBride. "I have been trying to think of a different word than transformational — because we have been using that word so many times — but there isn’t another word that captures what it meant to us. It got us to where we needed to be to move the project forward. We are so grateful for that."
"They are animal lovers and this means a lot to them. They understand the impact a new facility will have,” she said. “I think it instills a lot of confidence in our community that this is moving forward and we are so excited,”
Although the details of the donation were only hashed out a few months ago, McBride said the project was shovel-ready because of previous donations, notably from the estate of Hugh and Lorna Guthrie and the estate of Mary Anne Thompson Sommerville.
“They believed in the project," said McBride of the estate donations. "Even though we were so far from this day and unfortunately they couldn’t be here and celebrate this day with us, they still had a vision and believed in it. When you talk about leaving a legacy, they truly did.”
Other notable contributions to the capital campaign have come from Kathy White, the Truscott Family, Glenn Goddard and Maureen McCafferty, Larry and Katie Smith, Annie Guthrie and Muffie Guthrie, Jody McCurdy, Royal Canin and Ren's Pets.
To date, the capital campaign has rised about $6.5 million of its $10 million goal.
In his remarks, Guthrie said he believes the community will come together to reach the full $10-million fundraising goal.
“I have faith that our generous community will step up and will help to get you there,” said Guthrie.
The new home of the Guelph Humane Society will be spacious, with lots of natural light — unlike the current home on Wellington Street. It will also take advantage of nearby walking trails, where volunteers and staff will take the dogs on extended walks.
Although the site is currently on the extreme south end of Guelph now, McBride said one consideration of the property is that there will be more residential homes built when the Clair-Maltby area is developed.
“We have already seen that growth happening, the city is considering bus routes to come right to the front of the building and the South End Rec Centre is going to be built — both of those things will bring incredible growth to this area,” she said.
