Clark County has released new design details for its planned second public animal shelter, the Animal Resource Center, which is moving forward in the southwest valley.

Commissioner Michael Naft said the facility is being designed to house up to 192 animals, with room to expand later and the option of using part of the building as an emergency shelter.

The project would sit on about eight acres of a roughly 24 acre parcel and include a 38,000 square foot shelter building.

Naft said the county’s size makes the project necessary, noting that Clark County stretches from Bunkerville to Laughlin, and that animal services have not kept pace with the growing population, reports 8 News Now.

The plan also calls for a 2,600 square foot community room. County officials said that space would host adoption events, educational programs, community outreach, meet and greets, a pop up shelter, and a food pantry.

Before construction can begin, the project still needs a zone change, design review, a trail amendment, and development waivers from the county. Those approvals are the next step in a process that began earlier this year.

The push for the new shelter comes as existing facilities strain under rising intake. Max Blaustein with The Animal Foundation said the shelter recently reached 470 dogs, well above its normal capacity, and that a higher animal population means staff have less time to spend with each dog.

Clark County first named the southwest valley site for the $40 million Animal Resource Center over the summer, when the Board of County Commissioners’ February funding decision moved into the land use process.

We covered that announcement in July, when Naft said the project was expected to reach the entitlement stage within a few months.

The Animal Resource Center is separate from the $39 million supplemental shelter already in design near Tropicana Avenue and the 215 Beltway.

County officials have said that facility is expected to open by 2028, while the newer southwest valley project is still working through zoning approvals.

Dog owners who want to help ease shelter overcrowding in the meantime can foster or adopt through The Animal Foundation, which continues to see high dog intake across the valley.