Redesign the zoo, the sequel

It’s back to the drawing board for the Baton Rouge Zoo.

After a tumultuous first half of 2018, in which BREC made clear it wanted to move the zoo from north Baton Rouge to Airline Highway Park—then changed course a month later after a public uproar—the zoo is on track for a revamp at its current location.

In June, BREC officials issued requests for proposals to overhaul the nearly 50-year-old zoo and the surrounding 600-acre Greenwood Community Park.

The zoo request asks for a plan that updates the facilities and helps the zoo get back in good standing with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo lost its accreditation in March.

For Greenwood Park, the request calls for a large, new nature-based playground, recreation center, tournament athletic complex, horse trails, pedestrian and equestrian bridges, adventure areas, multi-use paths and a golf training facility, according to Daily Report.

By the deadline in July, just two firms had submitted proposals for the zoo, while eight others submitted for the Greenwood project.

“BREC is moving very deliberately and carefully to choose the best possible designers to help us reimagine [the parks],” BREC Superintendent Carolyn McKnight said in a prepared statement.

The winning teams are expected to be notified later this month, begin work on master plans and share them with the public in 2019. brzoo.org

This article was originally published in the August 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.