Almost Home Wellness Center

Almost Home Wellness Center

Getting the details right early

In a building like this, small misalignments can turn into big problems.

A veterinary clinic and rescue facility isn’t just a series of rooms. It’s a tightly coordinated environment where medical equipment, animal care spaces and building systems all have to work together. Ceiling heights affect equipment placement. Wall framing impacts kennel layouts. Openings for doors and windows need to align with both structure and function.

For J.E. Stewart Builders, Inc., the priority was clear from the beginning: Get those details resolved early, not in the field.

That focus shaped how the project moved forward.

A facility built around care

The 4,000-square-foot building brings together a range of functions that support both clinical work and animal care.

Inside, the layout includes exam rooms, a surgery suite, an X-ray area and a pharmacy, creating a complete environment for diagnosis and treatment. Supporting spaces such as isolation and hospital wards allow staff to care for animals at different stages of recovery while maintaining proper separation when needed.

Beyond clinical areas, the facility includes indoor and outdoor kennels, a washroom and a commercial laundry space. These elements are essential to daily operations, helping maintain cleanliness and efficiency while supporting the well-being of the animals.

The HVAC system plays a central role in that effort. Designed to support air quality and environmental control, it helps create a healthier setting for both animals and staff, an important consideration in a space where conditions can change quickly.

Each part of the building serves a purpose, but none of them operate independently. They rely on coordination.

Aligning structure with function

That coordination began during the submittal and approval phase, where the complexity of the project became clear.

Openings for windows and doors needed to align precisely with interior layouts. Ceiling heights had to accommodate medical equipment and ventilation systems. Wall framing had to support both structural requirements and the specific needs of the facility’s layout.

Rather than addressing these challenges sequentially, the team approached them together.

Varco Pruden’s Fast-Track team worked alongside the builder to implement an approach that allowed structural design and detailing to move forward in parallel with interior coordination. This created a level of flexibility that is difficult to achieve in a traditional process.

Adjustments could be made early, before they became conflicts in the field.

The result was a building where structural systems and interior requirements aligned from the start, reducing the need for rework and keeping the project on track.

A practical outcome for a purpose-driven space

Completed in September 2021, the facility now supports both veterinary services and rescue operations within a single, integrated environment.

For staff, it provides a space where workflows are clear and efficient. For animals, it creates a setting that supports care, recovery and safety.

For the project team, the value of the building comes back to how it was delivered.

The Fast-Track Hybrid approach didn’t just speed up the process. It improved it. By aligning decisions early, the team was able to move forward with confidence, knowing that the building would perform as intended once complete.