Five-year, $4 million plan proposed for Washington Park Zoo expansion and renovation

Washington Park Zoo Director Jamie Huss said the document is a continuation of the plan zoo officials submitted in 2015, and a “guideline to move the zoo forward.”

In the Strategic Plan provided to the Park Board, the zoo plans to restore and maintain many of its pre-existing structures.

The plan “includes ideas for future expansion and renovation with a focus on animal exhibits, public amenities, and support facilities. Our plan’s goal is to chart the course towards the realization of our mission of connecting people, animals, and the natural world,” according to the introduction.

“This document identifies opportunities and concepts for improving, adding, and expanding facilities and operations to meet the needs, goals, and mission of the Washington Park Zoo as it develops from a local family attraction into a regional destination.”

One of the proposed restoration projects included the limestone masonry repair and tuck-pointing of the historic Observation Tower due to weather related issues. The projected cost of restoration would be $700,000 and the project would be started in 2028.

The plan also includes restoration of the popular Monkey Island – built in 1934 but now outdated – to house a larger species or group of primates since it lacks an off-display holding area for cleaning and winter housing.

The goal is to renovate this exhibit before the zoo’s 100th anniversary in 2028, including an attached, heated, block building for primate holding and keeper access, and a large, open room with glass windows facing the exhibit where visitors can view the primates.

The outer walls surrounding the exhibit, the center rock base, and metal tower will also need to be updated; and the moat area partially filled and planted if proper safety modifications can be done.

Planned to begin in 2025, the renovation would cost about $1.9 million and be funded through grants, donations, the city, Zoo Society and Michigan City Redevelopment Commission

Several new buildings were also proposed in the plan, including a permanent all-season American Wetland exhibit to house the American alligator and capybara. According to the plan, having the building would eliminate the need for staff to move the animals to different buildings for the winter.

The proposed dates for construction would be from 2024 to 2025 and it would cost approximately $100,000, which would be funded from the zoo’s endowment fund.

Another proposed new building would be a two-story gift shop and classroom space at the northwest corner of the zoo where the concession stand was previously located. The building is necessary because both the current classroom and Treehouse Gift Shop are not able to house large groups of people.

The lower level of the building, according to the plan, would house merchandise and a storage room, and the upper level would be used as a classroom and rental space with private restrooms and a kitchenette.

The construction cost would come to approximately $1 million and it would also be built from 2024 to 2025. Funding would come from the Gift Shop Funding account, grants and donations.

The plan also calls for updates to the Eurasian Exhibit, Mixed Species Exhibit, and Wings of Wonder Aviary.

The total estimated cost of all of the proposed projects, according to the plan, would be $4.03 million to come from endowments; grants from the RDC and Michigan City Zoological Society; and from the zoo’s operating budget.

Park Board President Phil Latchford said the plan was detailed and concise.

“It didn’t leave me wanting to ask a lot of questions,” he said. “It was well done.”

Huss said the 2015 plan started with solely working on projects based on essential needs and what the zoo had money on hand for.

Now, she said, they’re getting to the point where they can plan to work on bigger projects and hope to find more sources for funding.

“This isn’t a typical master plan,” she said, “... you would fundraise through the whole project. It has been an ongoing project where we’ve moved things around and took into consideration what needed to be done based on the facility structure itself.”

Latchford also thanked Huss for adding various maintenance projects to the plan, which included repairing several roof and fence projects. Huss said she wanted to include them just in case they can get funding through a grant or donor, and such projects “don’t get forgotten.”

City Councilman Bryant Dabney, who serves as the liaison to the Park Board, asked Assistant Superintendent Shannon Eason if she was the one to write grant proposals for the zoo, because the council had discussed bringing in a grant administrator or writer, and he was trying to figure out who does what for all departments.

Eason said although they have worked together on writing grants, it was Huss who was the primary administrator.

“The last five years, she’s kind of been out on her own,” Eason said. “And doing a great job.”

Huss then announced the Zoo has received a $70,000 grant from the Otto-Margaret Trust, which will go toward the purchase of a new freezer to house meat for the various carnivores at the zoo.

“We’re trying to buy in bulk to save on shipping costs,” Huss said.

The money will also cover the specs for replacement of a roof that needs to be repaired, and for food and medical costs for the animals. The grant, Huss said, will be coming in in 2024.

The board approved the strategic plan unanimously.