Reviewed by: Pat Byington
Birmingham humane society campus progresses with new JeffCo animal facility opening soon
Reading time: 2 minutes
As the upcoming Jefferson County Animal Services facility puts on its finishing touches ahead of its grand opening in December, the Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS) is clearing up some confusion about the two organizations’ projects.
Jefferson County broke ground on its new animal care and control building in November 2024, almost exactly a year ago. The facility is located at 1052 Sydney Drive in Oxmoor Corporate Park, and the complex sits on 6.5 acres.
While this project has been in progress, GBHS has their own plans in motion. Years ago, GBHS announced plans to consolidate their services into one new campus, which is adjacent to the new Jefferson County building.
The new GBHS campus will be home to an externship teaching hospital and adoption center. The campus will also be home to:
- A cat café
- Foster-friendly areas
- Walking trails
- An outdoor plaza
- Campus-style enrichment areas
The Jefferson County and GBHS projects are operating in tandem, but they are, in fact, two separate projects.
“This distinction matters because the sooner we complete our campaign, the sooner our community’s animals (and the people who care about them) will have the hospital and adoption campus they deserve. The quicker we raise these funds, the faster we can build and save even more animal’s lives.”
GBHS on Facebook
GBHS owns the land that their campus will be located on. At present, the humane society manages the animal care and control contracts for Jefferson County and many of its cities, and the organization says it is “fully supportive of this long-needed improvement.”
The new GBHS campus, however, is intentionally located next to the Jefferson County facility.
“It will service our animals, and it will always be available to service the Jefferson County Commission’s animal care and control building should they choose to use it, even if we didn’t win the bid or have the contract. We just wanted to always make sure that these animals could have access to affordable, high-quality veterinary care.”
Allison Black Cornelius, GBHS director
GBHS is currently in a silent capital campaign to raise the necessary funds for the project.
For news, events and more happening around Birmingham, sign up for our FREE newsletter.
