Construction of Our Building

Shelter Design Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary's design minimizes the stress of the cats and dogs while keeping operational costs at a minimum. Cats and dogs will live in buildings separated by an interior courtyard. The living spaces for cats and dogs have an indoor cage-free area and an outdoor area. The play areas for cats and dogs will give them the opportunity to socialize with other animals and also interact with volunteers and people interested in adopting pets.

The animal intake and medical services wing of the building has state-of-the-art veterinary facilities for the sanctuary animals. In addition, no/very low-cost spay/neuter services will be provided for feral/barn cats and the pets of people with limited income. The building also has a community education building with meeting space and office space for the staff. Safe Haven's current Pet Retention services of free/sliding scale neutering, free pet food, and counseling will be expanded.

Green Components of the Building Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary will be the first "green" animal shelter in the Mid-Atlantic region. The innovative building, designed by award-winning architect David Quillin, will reduce environmental impacts and also reduce the costs of building heating and cooling. Some of the green elements incorporated in the design include geothermal heat, solar hot water, use of recycled materials, a climate-controlling courtyard and a vegetative roof.

According to Quillin, "green building is partly about consuming fewer resources, but it is also about working with the environment, rather than against it, to create a vibrant and comfortable space. People (and animals) feel better in buildings that connect them to their environment through natural light, natural ventilation, and natural materials."

The shelter will be the first commercial LEED certified building in Sussex County. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a process that certifies buildings in terms of categories such as site sustainability, energy, materials, and indoor quality. For more information about our building's green components,

Financing and Construction In 2009, Safe Haven was awarded construction grants by the Longwood Foundation and Welfare Foundation of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information on the Longwood and Welfare grants, click here. Safe Haven applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development loan that is in the final stages of approval. Safe Haven advertised for bids on the building in December 2009. The bids from 11 general contractors are now being analyzed. Since the site preparation is already done, construction is expected to take 10 months.