A Calgary businesswoman has been given the necessary approvals to open the first “urban kennel” in the city’s downtown core.

Earlier this week, Calgary city council approved the first urban kennel land designation, which essentially overturns the previous requirements that kennels need green space of their own to operate.

Hailey Seidel, founder of Petropolitan, told CTV News Channel the previous bylaw forced all kennels to the outer areas of the city where green space is available. That meant pet owners would sometimes need to travel 30 or 40 minutes to pick up their furry friends.

“I’m excited to be one the first to update something like this for the way that people are using and living in our city now, and I think it’s an amazing amenity to be able to offer to people living and working in the core,” Seidel said.

The kennel is located on the ground floor Palliser Square, a 27-storey office building in downtown Calgary, and offers a doggy daycare service as well as 24-hour kennel support for dogs, cats and other pets.

To mitigate the lack of green space on site, the dogs are taken on routine walks and will have climate-controlled play areas inside.

The Petropolitan is scheduled to open for business by the end of February and will cost about $40 per day, with discounts for frequent customers.