TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County commissioners on Wednesday approved a $75 million funding package for renovations and an expansion of ZooTampa at Lowry Park.
The money will come from the Community Investment Tax (CIT) funds and the zoo will have to match that money with their own $75 million. The combined $150 million would support a 15-year project to update older parts of the zoo and expand its footprint toward the Hillsborough River.
The proposal narrowly passed with a 4-3 vote. Some commissioners have questioned why ZooTampa would receive such a large allocation while other eligible institutions, including the Children’s Museum, Tampa Bay History Center and the Straz Center, are not receiving money through this package. Others countered that plenty more money was going toward the new Tampa Bay Rays stadium effort from the same pot.
ZooTampa Chief Zoological Officer Chris Massaro said the zoo is looking at about 14 acres of property near Lowry Park that the public cannot currently access.
“Currently, there’s this property we’re looking at, about 14 acres that the public doesn’t currently have access to,” Massaro said.
That land is currently used as a City of Tampa maintenance lot. ZooTampa says the property blocks access to the Hillsborough River and could eventually become a new South American section of the zoo, featuring animal habitats, dining and retail space.
The combined $150 million would support a 15-year project to update older parts of the zoo and expand its footprint toward the Hillsborough River. (ZooTampa)
“It’s a great opportunity for us to get a little bit closer to Hillsborough River, which, hopefully eventually, the plan is to have the water taxis come up, connect us to the downtown area,” Massaro said. “We’ll have a second gate with our South America expansion. The guests can come in right from the river.”
The concept is similar to the Straz Center’s ongoing expansion along Tampa’s Riverwalk, which includes outdoor event space designed to attract more visitors.
Now with the county’s approval, renovations to existing parts of ZooTampa would happen first. The expansion would come later.
The project would mark only the second major expansion since ZooTampa reopened in 1988 after a complete redesign and rebuild. That rebuild cost about $20 million.
Earlier this year, ZooTampa unveiled Florida Waters, a $35 million renovation project funded mostly through the zoo’s Guardians of Wildlife Capital Campaign.
The project included an expanded Manatee Rescue Center, Stingray Shores, Otter Oasis and the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Habitat.