I want to estimate the cost of an animal shelter
November 19, 2013 4:03 PM Subscribe
I want to estimate the cost of building and running a state of the art animal shelter for dogs and cats.
I've seen the shelters in Colorado Springs and Santa re and these are good models of what I had in mind. I think the architect for both of these is this place:
http://www.animalarts.biz/architecture/
In addition to the actual construction and real estate cost, I would want to estimate yearly costs for running a shelter, including Staff salary, Spay neuter program, Vaccinations, etc.
Can you suggest general or specifics for this?
I've seen the shelters in Colorado Springs and Santa re and these are good models of what I had in mind. I think the architect for both of these is this place:
http://www.animalarts.biz/architecture/
In addition to the actual construction and real estate cost, I would want to estimate yearly costs for running a shelter, including Staff salary, Spay neuter program, Vaccinations, etc.
Can you suggest general or specifics for this?
My local animal shelter is building a new facility right now.
Their annual report is also online.
Unfortunately I didn't find a cost rundown of the new facility on their site, but it may be in the annual report, and if not, I bet you could call them and ask for more info about the project.
posted by Sara C. at 5:05 PM on November 19, 2013
Their annual report is also online.
Unfortunately I didn't find a cost rundown of the new facility on their site, but it may be in the annual report, and if not, I bet you could call them and ask for more info about the project.
posted by Sara C. at 5:05 PM on November 19, 2013
Construction and real estate costs can vary wildly from one place to another. There is no way anyone can estimate either one of these without knowing exactly which market you are in.
You can real estate prices in your area by using web-sites like Zillow. Find buildings in your area that might work for your needs, and look up their value on Zillow.
posted by Flood at 5:50 PM on November 19, 2013
You can real estate prices in your area by using web-sites like Zillow. Find buildings in your area that might work for your needs, and look up their value on Zillow.
posted by Flood at 5:50 PM on November 19, 2013
You can look at their financial statements to find out what the overall expenses are for organizations such at the Santa Fe Humane Society.
It looks like you are interested in the costs for more than just operating the shelter itself, assuming you would want to look at offering the spay neuter program to animals that aren't in the shelter.
Zillow only covers residential properties, and zoning is likely to be a problem there. You'll need to look at local zoning laws to figure out where you might be able to locate such a thing and see what is for sale or lease in those areas.
posted by yohko at 8:56 PM on November 19, 2013
It looks like you are interested in the costs for more than just operating the shelter itself, assuming you would want to look at offering the spay neuter program to animals that aren't in the shelter.
Zillow only covers residential properties, and zoning is likely to be a problem there. You'll need to look at local zoning laws to figure out where you might be able to locate such a thing and see what is for sale or lease in those areas.
posted by yohko at 8:56 PM on November 19, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for all the info, this is helping. Some thoughts and responses.
Once the size of the facility necessary is determined, I can estimate the real estate and construction costs based on the location.
Using the Humane Society Shelter Design Packet, I've filled in some blanks, but there is one still missing: the number of animals to be housed. I have the population count of the county that the facility would be located in and I was hoping to extrapolate a number of animals from that. There is one shelter in the county, but they can't or won't give out numbers of animals. Is there an formula for this?
posted by falsedmitri at 4:24 PM on November 20, 2013
Once the size of the facility necessary is determined, I can estimate the real estate and construction costs based on the location.
Using the Humane Society Shelter Design Packet, I've filled in some blanks, but there is one still missing: the number of animals to be housed. I have the population count of the county that the facility would be located in and I was hoping to extrapolate a number of animals from that. There is one shelter in the county, but they can't or won't give out numbers of animals. Is there an formula for this?
posted by falsedmitri at 4:24 PM on November 20, 2013
U.S. shelter and adoption estimates
3,500—Number of animal shelters
6 to 8 million—Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:22 PM on November 20, 2013
3,500—Number of animal shelters
6 to 8 million—Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:22 PM on November 20, 2013
Is there an formula for this?
"[E]stimating the number of pets in your community is a critical first step in determining the optimal size of your shelter."
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:28 PM on November 20, 2013
"[E]stimating the number of pets in your community is a critical first step in determining the optimal size of your shelter."
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:28 PM on November 20, 2013
Also: Here are the archives for Animal Sheltering, the source for the article on estimating the number of pets in a given community.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:05 PM on November 20, 2013
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:05 PM on November 20, 2013
Response by poster: Maybe I am not being clear, or I am really not understanding something. The number of animals to be housed is the critical number here, not the number of pets in the community. Though, it may be possible to extrapolate the former from the latter, but I can't find that.
posted by falsedmitri at 5:13 PM on November 21, 2013
posted by falsedmitri at 5:13 PM on November 21, 2013
"Most jurisdictions can estimate the total number of animals to be housed at a facility at any one time by analyzing the number of animals housed at the existing facility during previous years and then adjusting these figures on the basis of current data about the community including the number of other shelters in the area, existing animal control ordinances and programs, demographic trends for both people and animals, and the location of the new facility in relation to the community’s population base."
You say that your local shelter won't release numbers; do they not have an annual report? Can you contact other shelters in your area/state or a comparable area?
Shelter data PAWS Chicago (.pdf)
Shelter data: Searchable Database to Compare Community Lifesaving
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:23 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
You say that your local shelter won't release numbers; do they not have an annual report? Can you contact other shelters in your area/state or a comparable area?
Shelter data PAWS Chicago (.pdf)
Shelter data: Searchable Database to Compare Community Lifesaving
posted by MonkeyToes at 8:23 AM on November 22, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for everything, I've got some numbers now.
posted by falsedmitri at 5:56 PM on November 25, 2013
posted by falsedmitri at 5:56 PM on November 25, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:12 PM on November 19, 2013 [1 favorite]