The City of Buffalo is inching closer to a new animal shelter in Buffalo’s Old First Ward amid ongoing overcrowding issues at the current downtown facility.
The city has identified a future shelter location at Louisiana and Miami Streets. The first step will be remediation of the existing entryway, before work can start on the design phase for close to $3.5 million.
It’s the first time Former SPCA Serving Erie County Executive Director Barbara Carr has seen significant investment in Buffalo animal shelters.
“Each administration has put a Band-Aid, of sorts, here and there on what we have, but no Band-Aid is big enough to fix this, our old animal shelter," she said. "Our current leadership doesn't believe in Band-Aids; they want solutions.”
The future shelter will be designed to hold around 100 animals, though its location means there will be room for expansion as needed. This comes as the Oak Street shelter is once again using pop-up crates due to limited space.
It’s the city’s job to make sure residents are cared for, and that includes animals, Buffalo Common Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski said.
“It wouldn't be remiss that an abandoned, I call it blighted, building in my district that's also city-owned gets an adaptive reuse for new life to be a contributing parcel," he said. "But also, a contributing welfare to the animals of the City of Buffalo, so I think that this is a perfect neighborhood improvement.”
The project is a credit to local activists and volunteers, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said.
“They never took no for an answer. They never accepted the fact that a subpar shelter was our only option," he said. "They kept pushing, and I thank them for pushing. But now it's our job to follow through, to build a shelter that Buffalo needs, to build a shelter that we are proud of.”
The project is estimated to cost at least $30 million overall, though that’s not immediate expenses. The city also is spending about $15,000 on emergency repairs for the current facility to remain usable.
The new shelter is expected to open in 2028, but there are potential roadblocks. The standoff with the comptroller’s office is ongoing, which means funds will have to be secured through the Buffalo Financial Stability Authority, Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said.
