CONCORD — The Concord-Merrimack County SPCA is nearly halfway to a $2 million fundraising goal needed to build a new facility in Concord to house homeless animals, after receiving a $54,900 donation from a car dealership last week.

Tracy Banks, owner of Banks Chevrolet-Cadillac-Buick-GMC, presented the donation last Wednesday, saying the donation represents her business making good on a promise to donate $100 to the SPCA for every car sold in June, July and August.

“The SPCA is a wonderful organization that helps hundreds of animals in need,” said Banks. “We want to extend our appreciation for what they do and help them build a new home for the animals in the region.”

“It was wonderful, a complete surprise,” said Cheryl Kimball, Director of Development and Community Relations for the SPCA. “It's very generous on the part of Banks, and we thank them, and of course we thank the customers who bought the cars.”

According to Kimball, the SPCA has raised just over $882,000 of the $2 million it says is needed to build a new center to house homeless animals. The proposal would place a modern animal care facility at 254 Silk Farm Road in Concord. The new facility would double the present capacity and include dedicated spaces for animal care, medical and behavioral evaluations, adoption counseling and humane education programming, such as on-site medical suite, isolation rooms for sick and injured animals as well as maternity, right-sized kennels for dogs, a variety of environments for cats, and multi-purpose space for education, behavioral and training programs.

Cob Hill Construction has been hired to complete the project. Construction should begin next spring, though a timeline for completion has yet to be established.

The SPCA is dedicated to caring for abandoned and homeless pets, protecting and advocating for pets in need, and promoting the humane treatment of all animals.