MARION COUNTY, Fla. – The Marion County Board of County Commissioners will host a groundbreaking event for a new Animal Services facility.
The event at 10 a.m. Wednesday will be held at the new facility’s 20-acre site just north of the Ocala International Airport near the intersection of Southwest 60th Avenue and State Road 40.
This new animal shelter is expected to open its doors in December 2025 and will provide a modern and humane environment for animals in need.
“It’s been a roller coaster, we have been wildly excited since the beginning,” said Kyra Lynch, the facility’s director of Animal Services.
The current facility is no longer large enough for the county’s needs.
“Marion County has known that this current facility is in need for a while,” Lynch said. “Years ago, they started to look at the rehabilitation of it, but the physical site has two acres or less of just build area on it.”
The new animal shelter will be built as a multi-building campus with more areas for enrichment, training, and play groups. The facility itself will also feature larger kennels, more room for pre-adoption encounters, and a surgical suite containing separate treatment areas for surgical, pre-op, and ICU care.
The facility will also incorporate innovative features designed to enhance the well-being of community pets and the Animal Services team providing care.
For more information on the new animal shelter, current and new facility comparisons, and the project’s timeline, click here.
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