Clients
Animal Emergency Hospital
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
The Animal Emergency Hospital provides emergency and critical care services to pets and pet owners throughout West Michigan and has done so for the last 30 years. Their need for additional space resulted in a new, 10,500 SF space on Plainfield Avenue NE. The space is an exact replica of the Animal Emergency Hospital in Byron Center, which First Companies built from the ground up in 2022. This latest building includes 10 exam rooms, space for administrative staff, a conference room, and 5,000 SF dedicated to specialized medical care like DT scans and radiology. Additional features include separate kennel areas for dogs and cats, as well as an attached outdoor space.
First Companies navigated a few challenges throughout the building process. The soil on the new parcel of land was poor and difficult to work with. The new hospital was also built beside the existing hospital location. Navigating construction while also allowing the existing hospital to operate as usual proved challenging. Schedules needed tight coordination. First Companies was able to make the necessary accommodations in order to complete the project within budget.
“This space allows us to offer advanced imaging services like CT scans onsite…In recent years, pets and pet owners would often wait 3 to 4 weeks to see an oncologist. We wanted to change that. We also wanted to have a beautiful, well-equipped, and spacious space to help us attract and retain high-quality employees. It’s a more comfortable work environment when the staff are not ‘on top of each other’ anymore.”
– Marilyn Brink, DVM
