Katherine McGowan, executive director of the Animal House Fund, said this could make the structure the first city-owned green building in St. Louis.

HOK's new design calls for building the structure into the bank of a hill, so that only one wall is visible.

Ed Throop, chairman of the Animal House Fund, presented the new design and other information last week to the Ellendale Neighborhood Association. The building will occupy part of Arsenal-Ellendale Park, on the city's south side.

"The project is going to be better on several levels, because we had a proactive dialogue," McGowan said. "It's a marriage of social issues — pet overpopulation and environmentalism."

Janet Kuhl, president of the neighborhood association, said a lot of residents who had been skeptical were swayed by the presentation last week. "A lot of people were upset about giving up part of the park, but that portion of the park itself has never been used for anything," Kuhl said.

Kuhl called the design "gorgeous." She said the plan calls for an addition of a walking track, flowering trees, benches, an expanded playground and picnic tables at the park. She said the parking lot would be repaved and the fields would be regraded and resurfaced.

"They're giving us something we have not had in 35 years — someplace the neighborhood kids and neighborhood families can go for rest and relaxation," Kuhl said. "I'm very impressed."

Source: "Animal House Group Plans Eco-Friendly Design," Southwest City Journal, April 12, 2006, by Shawn Clubb. Read the story.