TAMPA, Fla. — Upgrades are on the way for ZooTampa after Hillsborough County Commissioners narrowly approved a $75 million funding agreement.
The $150 million project will include a zoo expansion, upgrades to existing animal habitats, and adding new attractions.
Under the agreement, Hillsborough County would provide ZooTampa with $75 million in Community Investment Tax (CIT) funds.
The county will contribute $5 million annually over the next 15 years. The money is generated from Hillsborough County's half-cent sales tax.
The proposal narrowly passed with a 4-3 vote on Wednesday.
ZooTampa Chief Zoological Officer Chris Massaro said the expansion includes adding a South America section on 14 acres of property near Lowry Park. He said the public currently cannot access the property.
"We’ll be going across North Boulevard into Lowry Park. It’s a section of the park that currently there’s a city maintenance facility that sits on it, so we won’t be impacting any of the green space in Lowry Park. We'll be looking to renovate an area that currently the community doesn’t have access to," said Massaro.
ZooTampa would match the county's investment by also contributing $75 million through revenue and private donors.
Commissioners Cohen, Hagan and Myers voted against the funding agreement.
"I fully support ZooTampa. However, in good conscious, I cannot approve $75 million when we only designated $50 million out of the CIT for all of our cultural institutions. I think we should be prudent and provide a much more modest amount to ZooTampa which will allow us to partner with other cultural institutions," said Commissioner Ken Hagan at a meeting in October.
ZooTampa said the CIT funding would also help upgrade the zoo's oldest sections.
"We're going to start in our Asia section so the main habitat we will be looking at is the tiger habitat so we're really excited about the changes there," he said.
Plans also include adding a family ride and restaurant.
The improvements to ZooTampa will happen over the next 15 years.
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