IFAW Breaks Ground on New Int'l HQ in Yarmouth Port

Construction began on new international headquarters in Yarmouth Port with completion date of early 2008

YARMOUTH PORT -  IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) today began construction of a new international headquarters in Yarmouth Port, MA to maximize the organization’s global advocacy, strategic planning and communications efforts.

“This is a great day for IFAW, for our staff and partners on Cape Cod, and for the many animals we protect worldwide,” said IFAW President and CEO Fred O’Regan. “The headquarters we break ground for today will bring our 150 employees together in one Cape Cod location. This handsome new facility will greatly enhance IFAW’s efficiency and effectiveness in an environmentally friendly setting, ultimately allowing us to protect even more animals.”

IFAW’s new International Headquarters will be built using an environmentally conscious design featuring recycled content building materials and passive solar technology. The site and building will be designed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Native shrubs, trees and grasses will be planted in the surrounding landscape and open space will provide habitat for birds and local wildlife.

IFAW's August 2006 site plan. Image from the IFAW website.

The centerpiece of the new property will be 1.5 acres of open space named in tribute to the late Ms. Juliana Kickert. For almost two decades prior to her death last March, Ms. Kickert was a generous IFAW supporter. IFAW was recently notified of an unrestricted bequest estimated at US$10 million dollars from Ms.Kickert’s estate.

“Throughout her life, Juliana Kickert showed unbelievable generosity and compassion for animals. Her gift will enable IFAW to cover the full financing costs of our new international headquarters without diverting donor funds from our vital mission and expanding animal welfare work worldwide,” said O’Regan. “In tribute to her generosity we will dedicate the open habitat at the heart of our new headquarters as ‘Juliana’s Meadow.’”

IFAW’s new headquarters will be located at 290 Summer Street, once the site of Gold Star Nursery. The offices, comprised of three, two-story, barn-like structures totaling 40,000 square feet, will front on both Willow and Summer Streets. Parking will be at the back of the property near Enterprise Road.

During property negotiations, IFAW discovered soil contamination on the new building site. As a first step in its environmental commitment, IFAW voluntarily conducted a full cleanup, removing 9,000 cubic yards of contaminated fill. The site is now certified as clean and ready for building. Construction of IFAW’s new headquarters is scheduled for completion in early 2008.

IFAW team of leading architects, engineers and landscape designers, led by IFAW CEO Fred O’Regan and IFAW CIO Mike Cote, includes:

Architecture – designLAB architects of Boston
General Contractor – JK Scanlan Company, Inc. of Falmouth
Project Management – KVAssociates of Boston
Landscape Design – Stephen Stimson Associates of Falmouth
Engineering – TMP Consulting Engineers, Inc., Odeh Engineers, Inc. and Down Cape Engineering of Yarmouth Port
Legal services – Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP of Hyannis and Stinson and Ford of Harwich
Financing – MassDev, Bank of America and Cape Cod 5¢ Savings Bank

IFAW may be contacted at:
International Headquarters
411 Main Street
P.O. Box 193
Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
United States
Phone: (508) 744 2000
Phone: (800) 932 4329
Fax: (508) 744 2009
info@ifaw.org