Prince William Animal Shelter costs rise, construction underway

After years of inaction, Prince William County is moving ahead with its plan to construct a new $16.7 million, 28,000 square-foot animal shelter.

A county spokesman tells us:

On Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the Board of County Supervisors voted to budget and appropriate an additional $1.6 million for the construction of the new Animal Shelter, located at 14807 Bristow Road [near] Manassas.

The Board originally allocated $15 million for the Animal Shelter project; however, after issuing an invitation for bid for the construction of the project in October 2019, the lowest responsive bid, submitted by Taft Construction, Inc., exceeded available funds for the project by 21 percent. To remain within budget, county staff collaborated with the construction company on strategies to reduce construction costs while not affecting the programmed space, square footage, or overall operations.

After negotiations, Taft Construction, Inc. submitted their best and final offer. While the project had enough funds to award a construction contract, enough funds did not exist to complete the entire project. The project budget needed an additional $1.6 million to keep the total square footage of the facility as previously envisioned and complete the project as originally planned. In March, the Board directed staff to increase the Animal Shelter project budget by the needed $1.6 million.

With the allocation of these funds, the shelter will add approximately 2,300 square feet for potential uses, such as office space, flex space, playrooms, storage, and/or future growth areas. In addition, the funding will pay for demolition of the existing facility, additional furniture, furnishings and equipment, a new barn for large animals and site paving.

In May, preliminary site work started, including land clearing, demolition of some outbuildings, and installation of erosion and sediment controls. Upcoming tasks will include the installation of a new water main and construction of a temporary access road to the facility.

The project and design firm are Cole & Denny and the construction company is Taft Construction, Inc., with completion of construction scheduled for November 2021. The total budget for the new Animal Shelter is $16,724,525, which includes the additional $1.6 million.

The Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2017 approved the construction of a $14 million facility to open in 2021. Sending the original plans for the shelter back to the architect to be re-worked in a process the county dubbed “value engineering” in an effort to look for cost savings, as well as the increases in construction costs, were all cited as reasons for the cost overrun.

In February, the county nearly scrubbed the entire construction project, as county staff proposed to the Board of County Supervisors to drop plans to build a new shelter and instead purchase a foreclosed animal hospital located outside the county, at 9471 Manassas Drive in Manassas Park.

County staff told elected leaders the facility could be renovated and be used for an animal shelter for 62% less than the cost of contracting a new one. After a contentious back and forth with county staff and Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, of the Brentsville District, who questioned the county’s cost estimates, County Executive Christopher Martino admitted the plan to purchase the animal hospital would, in fact, save taxpayers about 30% of the cost building a new shelter.

The plan to build the renovate the old animal hospital was never again discussed.

The new animal shelter is being built next to the existing shelter, located at 14807 Bristow Road, next to the county landfill.

Prince William’s animal shelter will be about 60% larger than a newly-constructed animal shelter in neighboring Stafford County, which opened in 2018, at a cost of $5.7 million.