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Consultants present $11.2 million estimate for proposed Calaveras animal shelter; supervisors press for drawings
Summary
Architects and estimator LDA Partners updated the board on a proposed 10,800‑square‑foot replacement shelter, presenting a third‑party estimate of roughly $8.5 million in construction hard costs and a total project estimate of about $11.2 million; supervisors asked for a progress set of architectural and structural drawings to enable bidding.
Eric Wall, principal of LDA Partners, gave a detailed informational presentation to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28 outlining the program and a third‑party cost estimate for a proposed new animal shelter to replace the county’s existing facility.
LDA Partners’ program calls for roughly 10,800 square feet of buildings, including public areas, dog habitats, cat habitats and administrative spaces. “Our total buildings are roughly about, 10,800 square feet,” Wall said during the presentation. He told the board the consultant procured a third‑party estimator, indexed the cost against comparable California shelter projects and spoke with local contractors in active shelter work.
The estimate shown to the board breaks down as follows: roughly $1 million in site costs (grading, utility extensions), about $7.2 million in building construction, contractor general conditions and contingency that bring the total construction hard cost to about $8.5 million, and an additional roughly $1.7 million in soft costs and nearly $1 million in project contingencies — for a total project estimate “of just over $11,200,000,” Wall said.
Why the board probed timing: Supervisors pressed staff and the consultant for a schedule that would allow the county to move to bid while limiting further escalation. Mr. Wall said the design team’s progress set was about “85% complete” and that his priority was to finish architectural and structural drawings and to take at least one round of plan check before bidding. “For plan check… I would prefer… at least have 1 round of plan check before it goes out to bid,” he told the board.
Program details and operations: Board members asked about animal capacity, the cat “flex” suites and dog kennel configurations. Wall explained the shelter’s design includes flexible cat habitats with quarantine isolation areas (negative‑pressure rooms for disease control), dedicated puppy and small‑dog spaces, interior kennels with roll‑up doors for ventilation and exterior runs. The design also contains staff‑only secure areas, minimal landscaping in the public frontage and perimeter fencing included in the site cost.
Funding and next steps: The presentation did not propose a funding package. Wall said the bid strategy had been segregated so the county could consider building dog habitats first (an alternate strategy) and scale the rest of the project depending on available funding. Supervisors asked staff whether site work could start while fundraising continued; staff said they would explore packaging options but did not provide a firm schedule.
Public comment and shelter supporters: Staff from Calaveras County Animal Services (CCAS) attended and thanked the design team. Lisa Medina, Environmental Management Agency, praised the consultant’s responsiveness to staff and volunteers, noting the design incorporates best practices observed in other California shelters.
Ending: Supervisors asked staff to return with a concrete timeline for completion of architectural/structural drawings and a plan‑check strategy to allow the county to solicit construction bids. The consultants said they would aim to deliver a progress set within roughly a month, subject to county review and plan check.
