IACS receives $3 million donation, planning to build new facility

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Animal Care Services is continuing to move forward with plans to build a new facility on the near east side.

IACS has been in its current building off of S. Harding Street for more than 30 years. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says the building was not originally intended to be a full-care animal shelter, and an update is "decades overdue."

Plans are in the works for a new building, which will be located at N Sherman Dr and E Michigan St. That's the site of the former RCA plant.

“I can’t say it enough, but this new facility is long overdue and we are so excited to move to our new location at Sherman and Michigan," Katie Trennepohl, Deputy Director Indianapolis Animal Care Services, said. "Being on the near east side will allow us to provide resources in a community that is historically underserved and where we see the greatest need for the animals of Indianapolis.”

On Wednesday, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and the Friends of Indy Animals announced a $3 million gift for the new facility's construction.

Officials say the building is still in the planning stages and that it is too early to say how much it will cost. Predevelopment work is currently underway, and the city says "additional environmental remediation is expected" before a groundbreaking event can take place.

The City of Indianapolis has committed $18 million to the project.