It’s been more than six years in the works, but renovations finally have begun to transform the former YakAttack building in Burkeville into Nottoway County’s new animal shelter and adoption center.
Local officials and members of the volunteer Nottoway CARES group gathered Saturday morning at the site on North Agnew Street to celebrate the occasion. The project is expected to be completed in six months.
Nottoway County recently accepted a low bid of $2,103,550 to Hurt & Sons LLC of Nashville, North Carolina.
Nottoway bought the building and the two-acre lot on which it stands for $375,000 from Jack Boswell, who also gave the County an adjoining two-acre lot. It was Boswell who in Dec. 2018 called conditions at the current shelter shameful and horrific. Boswell also has donated thousands of his own money to the cause.
Just getting to the start line has taken several years and more than half a million dollars.
In addition to spending $375,000 for the building, the County two years ago spent $202,290 working for several months with RRMM Architects, which drew plans for the County to build a brand new 5,700 sq. ft. building.
Supervisors in May 2023 received only one bid to build a new shelter — a $4.9 proposal from Kenbridge Construction. That bid was rejected. The project was re-bid.
Norman Company of Mechanicsville was the only firm to respond in September 2023, with a price of $3.8 million. Supervisors rejected that bid, too.
Plans to build a new structure were scrapped, and the County retained Danville-based Solex Architecture for $10,000 to design renovations for the former YakAttack building.
Supervisors have voted previously to spend no more than $3.2 million of County money on the new shelter.
The County is being aided considerably by the Nottoway CAReS group, which launched in 2019 and thus far has raised about $640,000 in donations — and counting.
The County says it will build the new shelter to meet state Code, and use Nottoway CAReS funds for “extras.”
The current shelter spans only 1,100 sq. ft., has no restrooms, and is located at the County Landfill. The new shelter will have public parking, public restrooms and 14 indoor kennels, with connected outdoor runs — compared to 10 kennels at the current facility.
The new shelter’s cat adoption room will accommodate 16 felines — compared to six cages at the current facility. An isolation room at the new shelter will have 13 cages for animals with contagious diseases — compared to only one cage each for dogs and cats at the current shelter.
A special needs room for cats and dogs will include 26 cages. The current facility has none.
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