Columbus animal care facility groundbreaking set for Aug. 26 after $9.8 million deal

Columbus approved a public-private construction agreement July 21, 2026, for a new animal care facility near the Columbus Municipal Airport. The city has scheduled the groundbreaking for Aug. 26.

Force Construction will build the planned 21,000-square-foot facility under an agreement with a guaranteed maximum price of $9.8 million. City officials expect the project to be completed in July 2027, but that date is a target rather than a guaranteed final opening date.

New facility will replace smaller building

The project is intended to replace the current 4,900-square-foot Columbus Animal Care Services facility. The city says the existing building has electrical issues, poor ventilation and overcrowding problems.

The new facility is planned near the airport, keeping the city-operated animal-care service in Columbus. The approved agreement establishes Force Construction as the builder and sets the next major public milestone before construction is scheduled to begin: the Aug. 26 groundbreaking.

Funding combines public money and donations

The city says the project includes $5 million from its general fund and $1.7 million in READI funds. Private donations also support the project. Mark and Wendy Elwood donated $1 million, an amount that mirrors a separate $1 million community capital campaign.

The $9.8 million figure is the agreement’s guaranteed maximum price. It is not a statement that every final project cost is already known, and the project funding does not come from a single source. Public dollars and private donations are being combined to support the facility.

What happens next

The city has scheduled the groundbreaking for Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026. Force Construction is expected to begin work in connection with that construction schedule, while the city lists July 2027 as the expected completion month.

The construction agreement follows earlier municipal actions involving funding, design services and procurement. A December 2025 Board of Public Works and Safety record, for example, documented approval of a $37,400 design-services agreement with Force Design for the new Columbus Animal Care Services facility. Those earlier steps were part of the project’s development and were separate from the finalized construction agreement.

For Columbus residents and pet owners, the immediate change is that the city now has an approved construction arrangement, a named builder and a scheduled groundbreaking for a replacement animal-care facility. The next major checkpoints are the Aug. 26 groundbreaking and the city’s expected July 2027 completion target.

Sources

• City of Columbus: Columbus finalizes deal for new animal care facility
• WKKG: Redevelopment commission approves funding for animal shelter