Wilton, CT – Viking Construction has won a Project Team Award of Merit for Civic Projects (Large Project category) from the Connecticut Building Congress (CBC) for its work as general contractor on the Connecticut Humane Society’s new Pet Resource Center in Wilton. Viking worked with more than 28 subcontractors to complete the $17 million project.
The 14,000sf center, which opened in August 2025, is located on an 18-acre parcel along Route 7. It houses and cares for up to 75 animals awaiting adoption and includes a public veterinary medical clinic, pet adoption center, pet food pantry, community rooms, and outdoor spaces. The entry atrium is tall and filled with natural daylight to establish an open, welcoming atmosphere. Skylights in the kennel areas for the dogs and solar tubes in the cat areas were added to help regulate their circadian rhythm and maintain a healthy environment.
Kennels / Photo by Robert Benson Photography
The veterinarian clinic includes oversized exam rooms to accommodate families. Viking installed gas lines and other features for blood testing, X-rays, surgical spaying and neutering, dental services, and a range of other medical services. The clinic also offers general wellness programs, preventative treatments, vaccine clinics, and diagnostics. Viking installed thousands of tiled and resinous surfaces on every floor and wall (floor to ceiling in most areas) to withstand frequent wash downs associated with pet care. It also installed 32 hose bibs throughout for quick and easy clean ups, and flooring that gently slope toward more than 100 drains installed throughout the entire community.
The building’s exterior features subtle, warm tones and natural variation, blending with the surrounding landscape while maintaining a modern aesthetic. Viking built a sustainable rain screen system cladded in fiber cement panels, high-pressure laminate siding, and aluminum composite metal panels. The team also built an oversized fenced-in play area paved with interlocking rubber bricks that don’t heat up as much as artificial turf.
Blast area covered with suppression mats to absorb shock and debris.
To fit the new building into the hilly landscape, Viking had to blast and remove more than 20,000 cubic yards of rock and soil. Viking temporarily shut down Route 7 so it could conduct five separate blasts, each consisting of hundreds of small explosives to minimize debris. It drilled hundreds of holes (20-27 feet deep) through the granite and used more than 10,000 pounds of blasting agent. The entire blast area was covered with thick suppression mats to contain rock fragments and dust.
Other sitework challenges included engineering a storm water management system to significantly reduce snow melt and storm water runoff, installing a water main extension across Route 7, and installing an up-hill septic pumping system.
