APL Property Queenstown Ltd (formerly Lakes Property Services) property manager Dan Egerton, of Queenstown, said the council had a $200,000 budget for the 99.28sq m site, situated on the corner of Ballantyne and Riverside Rds, opposite the recycling centre and landfill, but the project would come in under budget.
Mr Egerton said alternative sites for the new dog pound were investigated in 2009.
They included options at Wanaka Airport, the Albert Town settling ponds and another area on Riverside Rd.
"All the options went to the Wanaka Community Board [which] researched each location and the pros and cons.
"They chose this site ... because of the natural contours of the land and the fact it lends itself to mitigating factors perceived to be associated [with a dog pound]."
The existing dog pound was no longer fit for its purpose, he said.
"It's not up to standard it probably was 20-years ago, but as regulations change, it's no longer suitable.
"The care of the dogs is paramount.
"Stray dogs in Wanaka may seem like a minor thing to most people, but over Christmas and during the high seasons it becomes a very real problem."
One of the primary concerns from the dog pound was noise, which was understandable.
However, Mr Egerton said the council had chosen materials which would reduce any noise coming from the pound.
"We had to get a noise report ... [which shows] any impact will be less than minor."
The report, prepared by Rob Hay of Marshall Day Acoustics, said the pound would be clad with timber and steel roofing with plywood linings and thermal insulation.
It would contain five kennels within the building along with an office, service area and room for another five kennels in the future.
Dogs would be allowed to exercise outside in runs "briefly" during the day while the pound was being cleaned and serviced.
The building and exercise runs would be located at the northwest end of the site, at the deepest point of a disused gravel quarry.
Mr Egerton said the nearest neighbour was about 150m away from the site and in his report, Mr Hay said an assessment of noise effects had been carried out at the nearest dwelling.
"In our opinion the scenario most likely to cause exceeding of the District Plan noise limits is dogs barking while in the outside run.
"The degree of sound insulation afforded by the pound building is more than adequate to ensure compliance with ... noise limits.
"We understand that dogs will only be outside for limited periods of time during the daytime ... and that at all other times dogs will be inside the pound building."
Mr Egerton said the council had also prepared a landscaping plan, featuring "natural-looking bunds" which would ensure the pound would be visually screened from neighbours and the road, and would also help to mitigate noise while dogs were outside.
"The building is being constructed in such a way it's in keeping with the rural environment it's not some big, square monstrosity."
Mr Egerton said the open tender for the construction of the new pound would close on February 21 and he expected construction to begin soon after, with the building likely to be completed before Easter.
