Following a US$25m (€21.5m, £16.4m)
renovation of its aquarium earlier this year, Toledo Zoo has drafted a US$94.25m (€86m, £60.8m) masterplan which, if approved, would be implemented over the next 10 years to modernise the Ohio visitor attraction.
The newly-drafted plan is dependant on voter approval of a capital levy renewal, to raise an initial US$67.5m (€61.5m, £43.4m) beginning in 2017, with the draft to be placed on public ballot in November.
First on the agenda is a renovation of the zoo’s Africa! exhibit to start next month, with the main feature of the US$2.75m (€2.5m, £1.7m) development being the addition of an aerial obstacle course with a zip line above the enclosures. Plans also include the addition of a viewing deck where visitors can hand-feed giraffes. A completion date is set for Q1 2016. The Africa! project will also gain additions later in 2016, with development of a pavilion to provide additional space for special events at the zoo.
The most significant development in the masterplan will be the US$30m (€27.3m, £19.3m) river exhibit. Included will be a reimagination and expansion of the zoo’s Hippoquarium, which will allow visitors to view hippos underwater in a new enclosed home. The river aquarium will also feature an outdoor brown bear exhibit, which will use an underground tunnel for visitors to pop up into viewing domes right in the centre of the enclosure.
The other significant investment in the masterplan is the US$22m (€20m, £14.2m) tiger exhibit planned for the zoo’s Cheetah Valley. Scheduled to open in 2023, part of the enclosure sits on the back of a restaurant where people can eat while watching the tigers in their habitat. In addition, a covered jungle-themed exhibit would replace the area's main plaza and a new temperature controlled habitat is being considered for more tropical species. With the tigers moved from their original home of Tiger Terrace, that area will be converted into a grasslands exhibit for North American species like bison, pronghorns and coyotes.
The final development in the plan will be the construction of a US$7m (€6.4m, £4.5m) retractable roof for the zoo’s amphitheatre, which will start in 2024 and be ready by 2026.
The remainder of the funding will go on smaller projects, such as the conversion of an existing café into a Komodo dragon exhibit and various upgrades to zoo entry corridors and parking, as well as ongoing infrastructure improvements, repair, maintenance, and professional services such as engineering and design.
A representative for the zoo confirmed to
AM2 that at this stage no architects or engineers have been appointed to the masterplan, which is “in the very beginning stages”, and that the zoo is now “in the process of raising funds in order to move forward with the project.”
