Year In Preview: A look at Birmingham Zoo’s planned $18 million renovation

Renovation work aimed to transform the Birmingham Zoo’s entrance and create new habitats for endangered Asian species is currently running on schedule, said Marketing Coordinator Kiki Nolen-Schmidt during a recent tour of the areas under construction. 

Though Birmingham Zoo visitors are likely accustomed to the sight of the heavy machinery and construction workers busily bringing to life a planned $18 million renovation project, they still curiously peek through the fences surrounding the former fish and turtle ponds and the 59-year-old entrance facility. 

Real-time cameras installed near the construction site, and visible online, show crews working to remove the old gift shop and what remains of the entrance. Part of the new entrance will include an area dedicated exclusively to education, Nolen-Schmidt said. A classroom-like setting will allow students to be introduced to the zoo with various hands-on activities. The second floor of the entrance will house the zoo’s office staff. The entrance will also house a ticket counter and brand new gift shop. 

Just ahead of what was the entrance, the large ponds are no more. Crews relocated all the animals in the ponds to off-site facilities before giant pumps came in to drain the water, Nolen-Schmidt said. The now barely-visible holes are being filled with dirt, creating the foundation for what will eventually become a hard-surface orientation plaza lined with water features. Its design will allow for high-traffic activities such as an Earth Day celebration. 

A meadow will expand out from the plaza, according to the designs, and serve as an event lawn to hold after-hour celebrations such as movie showings, weddings, dinners and concerts. The lawn space is scheduled for completion sometime in 2016, Nolen-Schmidt said. 

A paved promenade will be built surrounding the meadow and will serve as the access point to the various areas at the heart of the zoo. A second-story elevated walkway just off the promenade will lead visitors over the train tracks and into an enclosed area which will house the planned Asian Passage exhibit, designed to replace the outdated predator building. Plans for the new Asian Passage exhibit call for the construction of new habitats to house endangered Asian species such as the Malayan tiger, red panda, Komodo dragon and Sumatran orangutan. Construction of the new exhibit, said Nolen-Schmidt, likely won’t be complete until sometime in 2017 or 2018. 

Online, the Birmingham Zoo continues to raise funds to be used in the construction. Visit birminghamzoo.com for more information on how to donate.