Ryan Breaks Ground on Arizona Humane Society Campus

At Ryan, our mission is to create places for people to thrive. However, we also have a soft spot for animals and we're happy to announce that we've partnered with Arizona Humane Society and Animal Arts to create a place for animals to thrive. We broke ground today on the Arizona Humane Society Rob and Melani Walton Papago Park Campus, a 72,000-square-foot campus and medical complex that will create a sustainable, long-term system of care for the Valley’s most vulnerable animals.

“The Arizona Humane Society is moving the needle when it comes to animal welfare and this aligns with our mission to create places for people, and in this case animals, to thrive,” said Chuck Carefoot, southwest region president, Ryan Companies. “This project gives our team a chance to implement our expertise in healthcare while building on it. We’re thrilled to partner with AHS and Animal Arts to bring this cutting-edge campus to life.”

Located at the juncture of the 202 and 143 freeways in the Papago Park area, the two-story campus will serve as the regional hub for comprehensive services including acute medical and trauma care, spay/neuter services, rescue and cruelty investigations, pet adoptions and education programs. This new facility will also have an expanded triage area in the trauma hospital, which will enable AHS to treat thousands more homeless pet patients than their current location.

“Today marks a critical turning point in animal welfare in our community and the country,” said the Arizona Humane Society’s President and CEO, Dr. Steven Hansen. “Our collaboration with industry leaders like Ryan Companies and Animal Arts is a testament to the incredible impact this $46 million project will have, and it underscores AHS’ commitment to providing Arizona’s pets with the most thoughtful and innovative level of care possible.”

As the architect of record and interior designer, Animal Arts used Papago Park and the concept of canyon erosion as inspiration for the design of the campus and medical center. Using their expertise in animal care facility architecture, they’ve implemented several sustainable and innovative features into the design that maximize natural light while heightening animal well-being. This includes the building’s orientation, as well as providing 90% of natural light in animal housing spaces.

“Animal Arts is honored to collaborate with the Arizona Humane Society on their innovative, world-class facility by contributing our knowledge of both animal care and architecture to help them create something truly unique for the greater Phoenix community,” said Sarah Boman, principal, Animal Arts.

With stewardship being one of Ryan’s core values, the company selects a non-profit project every few years and credits back all project profits. For 2021, Ryan chose the Arizona Humane Society and will construct its new campus at cost, saving the organization more than $1 million. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2023.