BERKELEY — Berkeley Humane, a more than a century old animal shelter and clinic serving the East Bay and beyond, broke ground on a state-of-the-art facility over the weekend that promises to greatly expand the nonprofit’s services.
Phase 1 of the new facility, dubbed the Bay Area Animal Resource Center, or BAARC, will open in the same location as the original center at 2700 Ninth St. after a roughly two-year construction process.
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Once complete, the new center will include a 6,000-square-foot medical and adoption center, 2,500-square-foot dog pavilion and courtyard, cat care lounge, surgical suites, recovery areas, and pharmacy. The center will also offer behavioral, social and educational training programs along with other safety-net services.
Another 10,000-square-foot expansion is planned to happen around 2028.
The new center will make it possible for Berkeley Humane to place more animals in homes, provide complex medical care to animals who may otherwise go without and help extend a pet’s life, bringing comfort to both them and their owners, said Ellen Jacobs, a donor, volunteer and BAARC campaign chair.
“It’s just always an emotional event when any of those things happen. And the thing about BAARC is that BAARC is about making those types of events happen more and more every single day,” Jacobs said.
More than 4,000 adoptions were facilitated and 19,500 medical procedures performed by Berkeley Humane between 2021 and 2023, according to their latest report. The nonprofit has also distributed 256,000 pounds of food to thousands of homes in need and been supported by about 273,000 volunteer hours between 2019 and 2023.
In addition to caring for animals and supporting pet owners in the Bay Area, the nonprofit has also played a major role during catastrophic natural disasters and emergency events. Those services will also be expanded with the development of the new center, the organization said.
Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii, who has three dogs of her own, shared her excitement for the new center and the resource it’ll be for the region.
“The new center will serve Berkeley and the wider Bay Area community, going beyond placing animals in homes,” Ishii said in a statement. “They’re providing the community with meaningful support and helping to reduce barriers to pet care.”
BAARC will replace Berkeley Humane’s more than 90-year-old outdated facility, part of which has been out of commission since 2010 following a major fire.
Ahead of construction, Berkeley Humane relocated its Spay the Bay clinic to a PetSmart store at 1380 Fitzgerald Dr. in Pinole. The move and expansion into Contra Costa County is meant to ensure the program can continue without disruptions.
“We’re not just opening a clinic — we’re laying the foundation for the future of animal welfare,” Zerwekh said in a press release announcing the clinic. “This move allows us to expand vital services while we build a modern, comprehensive resource center that will benefit animals and their families for generations to come.”
The groundbreaking ceremony was held during Berkeley Humane’s annual Bark and Meow Around the Block event, an adopt-a-thon and street fair featuring hundreds of pets from shelters across the Bay Area.
“It’s so much fun,” said Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani, who looked on as her son and his friend excitedly admired puppies and kittens. “It’s just a delight.”