Cats and dogs now await adoption at McLean County Animal Services' new facility just south of Bloomington.
McLean County Animal Services officially opened its new space in Shirley, just south of Bloomington, on Friday morning. Community members and county government leaders gathered at a ribbon-cutting ceremony and press conference.
“It is so amazing to finally be at this next part of our journey with McLean County, and I’m looking forward to how we can connect with our community and the animals and just really showcase all the things that are wonderful about our program,” said McLean County Animal Services director Marshell Thomson.
The facility, designed by Farnsworth Group in collaboration with CORE Construction, boasts more outdoor space than the previous location as well as a new filtration system and a fire suppression system with a 13,000-gallon water tank underground. Staff members also have more office and break space.
More on-site medical treatment will also be available for animals with the addition of two veterinarian rooms in the shelter.
“I’m genuinely happy, and McLean County has done a wonderful job and collaborating in this project. The county administration, the county board [and] the [public building commission]—all of those that contributed—really deserve a lot of credit because they have thought about things that are very detailed and very important,” Thomson said.
The previous building was built in 1993 and occupied 5,000 square feet of space. The new building is 11,000 square feet and is surrounded by farmland previously owned by the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District, only about a mile from the old building.
“[The old building] was becoming too small for the needs of our county, and we started to have some flooding issues,” said McLean County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston.
McLean County Government Administrator Cassy Taylor said the old building suffered damage from two floods — the first in June 2021, and the second in May 2023.
“That started a journey to providing a better location and a better building for our animals. The county board provided vision and support as we developed a financial plan to start the design for our new space,” Taylor said.
The facility cost $7 million to build. About $4 million came from the county board's American Rescue Plan Act grant funds, with $3 million coming from taxpayers, according to Taylor.
“That’s when things really took off,” Taylor said.
Friday's attendees took a tour of the new facility, including spaces where cats and dogs are kept.
Assistant Administrator of the McLean County Government Tony Grant said animals and staff alike have been adapting well to the new building.
“This is a gorgeous facility; we have a patio that’s available for staff if they need to decompress for a second, and we also have an employee shower that’s in here,” Grant said.
“You can see this is a well-thought out [and] well-designed building that really is meeting the needs of today and really setting us up to continue to meet the needs for the future generations as this building continues to get used for the next 20, 25 [or] 30 years like the old facility was,” Grant said.
McLean County Animal Services is located at 1360 E. 850 Rd. in Shirley. The shelter is currently at capacity, meaning no more animals can be taken in until more people adopt.
“While the building is state of the art, in the heart of animal services it does lie with our volunteers. Countless hours are spent managing adoption services and we love our dedicated volunteers, and we do encourage others to join us,” Johnston said.
