Brownsville City Commission OKs first reading on master plan for zoo
Officials from the Gladys Porter Zoo, a constant in Brownsville for just over 50 years, presented highlights from a master plan to renovate and potentially expand the zoo during last Tuesday’s city commission meeting.
The phased plan for the existing zoo is estimated to cost $30.84 million and outlines ideas for new and improved exhibits, a zipline and rentable spaces for events.
Expansion of the zoo is estimated to cost over $130 million and would create room for visitor amenities, new exhibits, a tunnel under Ringgold Street, a themed hotel and more.
Commissioners approved the master plan on first reading.
“I wanna send out our sincere appreciation for your realizing the value of our Gladys Porter Zoo to both Brownsville [and] the Rio Grande Valley,” said Patrick Burchfield, director of the zoo. “And it’s world renowned. We’re known worldwide because of the excellent programs for breeding rare and endangered species, our conservation work.”
Burchfield said the zoo won awards when it was first built for being “on the forefront” of design and that it now serves as an “economic engine” for Brownsville by bringing in tourism, providing jobs and dealing with local vendors.
Additionally, of the 2,000 facilities nationwide to use the word “zoo” in its title, Gladys Porter Zoo is one of only 240 to be accredited, meaning it meets high standards of animal welfare, husbandry and exhibitry.
However, Burchfield said standards change, and in order to keep its accreditation status, the zoo must upgrade several of its exhibits, including the lion habitat and the Small World petting zoo. The lion exhibit, which is currently 950 square feet, now needs to be a minimum of 10,000 square feet.
Suzanne Shepard, president of the Valley Zoological Society for the Gladys Porter Zoo, thanks the commissioners for their support of the zoo master plan last Tuesday during the Brownsville City Commission meeting. ARISBETH RODRIGUEZ/THE RIDER PHOTOS
Jay Dertinger, an architect with PJA, a Seattle-based architecture firm that specializes in zoo design, said there are many improvements recommended that could be made within the existing property footprint.
“We prioritized the major improvements into a phasing plan and created a rough … cost to implement the plan,” Dertinger said. “Each phase will develop new exhibits in an orderly progression in order to continue to grow attendance.”
Also proposed is the renovation of the existing event center, which is in need of a cosmetic upgrade.
“We saw an opportunity to add some big picture windows directly into the tiger exhibit, which will make it more enticing for people to rent,” Dertinger said. “We’re proposing an expansion of the catering kitchen to increase the capacity for catering events. And then, also, we’re proposing a new, large 1,600-square-foot pavilion.”
New visitor amenities could also be created if the grounds expanded into a neighboring property, a possibility being explored by a subcommittee of zoo and Brownsville Independent School District representatives.
The expansion would create room for a new entrance as well as retail, dining, office spaces and a four-story parking garage that would accommodate the zoo, resaca retail and Mitte Cultural District.
A large African savannah exhibit featuring animals, such as giraffes and cheetahs, and a 125-room themed hotel is also proposed for this area. The hotel would provide rooftop views of many exhibits.
