$70 Million Expansion for Animal Medical Center
"Gift of Love" project to include new emergency units, research space and dog run
One of the world's top veterinary hospitals is planning a $70 million expansion of its New York headquarters.
The 110-year-old Animal Medical Center on Manhattan's East Side will get new emergency and intensive care units, more space for research - and even a grassy new balcony dog run and park.
When completed in 2022, the 26,000-square-foot (2,415-sq. meter) nonprofit facility will acquire another 11,000 square feet (1,020 sq. meters), with four additional operating rooms and extra conference space for postgraduate veterinary training.
Of the $70 million needed for the “Gift of Love” project, about $44 million has already come from big-name New Yorkers, including the Langone and Tisch families and Annette de la Renta, wife of the late designer Oscar de la Renta.
The rest of the funding will come through a public campaign.
“This campaign will ensure that AMC continues to deliver world-class patient care, drive groundbreaking research, and pioneer new discoveries that are making a difference in both animal and human medicine,” said Kathryn Coyne, the hospital's chief executive officer.
The veterinary institution has partnered with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to develop a vaccine that extends the survival time of dogs with melanoma.
Animal Medical Center was founded by a socialite to care for needy New Yorkers' pets. With 54,000 current annual visits to about 100 doctors in 17 specialties, the center's global patients now include New York City's elite police dogs.