VALPARAISO | A new business is opening soon that might be the cat's meow, but some nearby residents worry it is a sign the neighborhood is going to the dogs.
Coco's Canine Cabana, an indoor doggie day care and dog park, is opening in the former Magnequench building at 405 Elm St. The indoor nature of the facility will be a first for Northwest Indiana, but it is modeled after similar successful operations in Indianapolis and Chicago.
The venture is the brainchild of Kathy DeFries, one of the owners of Excel Machine, which occupies about half the building and does machine work for the steel industry. Jennifer Ellingen, who manages Excel and will manage the doggie center, said DeFries "has always loved dogs and wanted to take care of them."
The Coco of the business's name is a former beloved pet of hers.
"She checked out the ones in Indianapolis and they are thriving, so she decided to try it here," Ellingen said. "We will have a photographer, who will rent space and set up appointments with the dogs' owners. We have props for the various holidays for the dogs to play with, and we will be doing enrollment pictures when they start."
The 15,000-square-foot facility will be able to handle about 100 dogs. It will have separate rooms for large dogs and small dogs, and a separate room for older dogs to lie down when they get too pooped to participate with the other pups. A trainer will offer obedience classes and provide private lessons and puppy classes.
The "park" actually is a big concrete floor featuring a raised platform in the center with a cabana decorated with a tropical theme for the dogs to relax in. Overnight boarding is not part of the service. All the dogs have to go home by closing, which is 10 p.m. on weekdays and 8 p.m. on weekends.
"We are just trying to find a use for the whole building," Ellingen said. "We're paying for the utilities on the whole thing and the building was just sitting there, so we might as well make good use of it. People can pay an hourly fee for their dog to run around while their owner reads or something, or they can play with the dog inside in the winter without getting cold and wet."
The plan for a Nov. 30 opening got support from the city's Site Review Committee last week, and a variance to allow a dog facility in a factory subsequently was approved by the city's Zoning Appeals Board. Neighbors were concerned about the noise of barking dogs, but Planning Director Craig Phillips said he doesn't expect that to be a problem.
"It's completely on the other side of the building from the residential area, and there is about 40 feet of office space between the day care center and the street," Phillips said. "If we get any complaints about noise, we will look into it. For now we will go off the idea that they will handle the noise appropriately. We are supportive of the project because it seems to be an interesting reuse of the building."
