RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC) Director Christie Chipps-Peters believes she has found her “dream” property to serve as the city’s next shelter.
“From the beginning, I had said to [the city], like a pie-in-the-sky dream, I want a beautiful space on Cary Street that we can make an adoption center where everyone will want to come and visit and fall in love with the animals that we have available for adoption,” Chipps-Peters recalled.
She gave CBS 6 an exclusive tour of 2310 West Cary Street, which has served as studio space for artists.
The city plans to pay $2 million for the building using funds that were allocated for an improvement project for Commerce Road, but state funding freed up that money, Richmond BizSense first reported on Monday.
The current shelter on Chamberlayne Avenue is about 15,000 square feet. The new property, if approved by Richmond City Council, would add another 10,000 square feet of space to help find dogs and cats a forever home.
Like many shelters across the country, RACC regularly posts pleas for help on social media to adopt pets and empty their persistently full shelter.
Chipps-Peters shared that she has big dreams for the massive space in the Fan District, including cat condos in the front window, a store, and a social space.
“This space that we're standing in right now will be inside exercise space, so meet-and-greet space for dog-on-dog introductions,” she explained. “Dogs can run around in play groups and all kinds of enrichment. There's quite a big office space in the back that we'd really love to do a community resources room.”
The property has good bones and would require minimal construction, such as getting bathrooms to ADA compliance and upgrading the HVAC system.
Chipps-Peters has plans to use an existing tiled room with a drain and sink for washing and grooming dogs. The concrete floors are ideal for high-traffic areas, and there’s storage space in the back of the building.
She wants to reimagine what an animal shelter could look and feel like.
“I want you to get a cup of coffee and come and sit with the cats. If you're having a bad day, think, I’m going to go and visit Richmond Animal Care and Control today and pet a cat or pet a dog,” Chipps-Peters said. “We want it to be a community asset that everyone feels like they're in the neighborhood, you're welcome to come in and see us.”
RACC hopes volunteers will defer the need to hire additional employees on payroll.
Chipps-Peters said the $2 million price tag is a good deal for Richmond taxpayers and avoids building a new shelter from scratch.
“Our neighbors in Henrico and Chesterfield are both doing that. Henrico passed a referendum bond in 2022 for a $15 million animal adoption center, and Chesterfield is $17 million,” she stated. “The City of Richmond simply doesn't have that amount of money to drop on an animal center right now.”
Adding to saving taxpayer dollars, they plan to pay for new cages, kennels, furniture, and extra needs through their private non-profit, RACC Foundation.
The community can contribute through a small fundraising campaign in the fall if Chipps-Peters’ dream becomes a reality.
The proposal passed Richmond’s planning commission on Tuesday and will go to City Council on October 15. Councilmembers Reva Trammell and Kristen Nye have already signed on as co-patrons.
“We are asking the community to please provide an email to the city clerk's office, because it will then be included in public comment,” Chipps-Peters stated.
The current shelter, gifted by the Richmond SPCA in 2005, will stay in the hands of RACC and serve as a space for animals to heal prior to moving to the Cary Street location for adoption.
If everything goes to plan, RACC aims to open the adoption center by late summer or early fall of 2025.
“The possibilities are endless,” Chipps-Peters said. “But for the animals — it will be such a blessing for them to have bigger spaces while they await their forever homes and hopefully a less stressful situation. It's going to be great.”
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