UNION — Overcrowding at the existing Union County Animal Shelter is driving the need for a new facility to house stray cats and dogs.
The cost for a new shelter would run about $7 million, which would include grading the site for additional uses. The existing shelter at 1647 Jonesville Highway was built more than 30 years ago.
The current shelter was built to house up to 65 animals, but now averages much more. It was also never meant to be a permanent solution.
“While the shelter has seen many additions, it is an outdated facility that is completely undersized for the occupancy we currently have,” Union County Supervisor Phillip Russell told The Post and Courier. “Union County staff have done their absolute best to maintain and improve the facility, but the existing shelter structure is at the end of life, and just not an inviting place for the citizens or the animals we are charged with assisting.”
Union County Council has yet to make a formal decision on the matter. Phillips presented preliminary plans for the shelter to the county’s finance committee Oct. 6 and was told to proceed with further development of the project before it is presented to council.
The project would include extending an existing sewer line through the property and a second road would be constructed to provide another entrance to the site A new shelter would be built on the same property where the existing shelter is located.
A master plan for the site includes more than just a new animal shelter. The uses for the 80-acre site also include a waste transfer station, an indoor shooting range and training facility for law enforcement. A new recycling center is being planned for the site.
For now, the focus is on preparing the site for a new animal shelter.
The existing shelter was designed to hold up to 35 dogs and 30 cats. The average number of dogs housed now at the shelter is 90 while more than 40 cats are housed at the shelter. There’s no longer enough room for dogs with many of them being kept in fenced-in pens outside.
“This proposed new facility was needed years ago, and it will not come one day too soon in our county,” Russell said. “It is my hope that this new shelter will be a place of help for our animals and a place of resource and education to our public.”
Union County Council may consider whether to approve the project at its next meeting on Oct. 14. Preliminary renderings of a new animal shelter have been drafted, and further construction documents will be developed in the coming weeks.
The total cost of the shelter is yet to be determined. The proposed $7 million includes grading the site and utility extensions.
“A master plan, which included topographic information, was created so that Union County could have a plan for future growth,” Russell said.
Building new animal shelters in the Upstate has become a growing trend as more communities identify the need to house more stray animals.
Cherokee County constructed a $4.7 million animal shelter, which opened in April 2024. Construction on a new Pet Resource Center continues in Spartanburg County. The cost to build the Pet Resource Center is about $24.6 million, which is scheduled to open in early 2026.