The Austin Dog Alliance expects to transfer its operation next year to Cedar Park as part of a $1.38 million relocation project.

The nonprofit agency in early April purchased a 7.4-acre tract of land at 1321 W. New Hope Drive. The Cedar Park City Council will vote Thursday to rezone the property, which will include a training facility, dog care and education building, a welcome center and confined park area.

Rezoning approval would cap more than a year and a half of planning, said Kathleen Majcher, Austin Dog Alliance volunteer coordinator. Construction is expected to begin Sept. 1, she said, and the project should be finished by February 2013.

"Cedar Park has been very welcoming and bent over backwards to help us with zoning," Majcher said. "The neighbors have also been really welcoming and actually want to volunteer when we get over there."

The group originally considered properties near its original Northwest Austin office building, located at RM 620 and Lake Creek Parkway, but a complicated rezoning process made the move difficult, Majcher said. The Cedar Park property is also more conducive to the Austin Dog Alliance operation, she said, which includes dog training, rescue work and therapy assistance.

"We needed a large chunk of land where we could build large enough buildings to encompass all of our mission," she said. "We do so many different things for so many different people."

There are 437 active volunteers for the agency, Majcher said, including at least 80 human-dog teams that go to 110 locations—schools, libraries, hospitals, and retirement, rehabilitation and abuse centers—for therapeutic sessions. Many of the dogs are also trained to work with families who have children with autism.

"There are a lot of people around the country who call our director (Debi Kraker) to ask what we're doing because there's very few places in the country that work with children in the autism spectrum as much as we do," Majcher said.

At least six full-time staff workers will be based at the new Austin Dog Alliance headquarters, while trainers and volunteers will continue serving across the Austin area.