After doing a lot of research on how much different exhibit habitats and complexes cost to make, I decided to make a timeline with how much different zoos spent on exhibits over the years. Hopefully this can be a useful tool to comparing the amount of money spent on different species and by different zoos and give a reference point for comparing the quality of an exhibit to the money spent. 2017 Africa Rocks (San Diego Zoo)- $68 Million Lost Kingdom (Tulsa Zoo)- $21 Million Grizzly Ridge (Saint Louis Zoo)- $15 Million Gorilla World Renovation (Cincinnati Zoo)- $12 Million Land of the Lemurs (Calgary Zoo)- $7.9 Million Lions/Hyenas (Turtle Back Zoo)- $3.6 Million The Edge (Denver Zoo)- $2.2 Million 2016 African Grasslands (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $73 Million Suntrust Pier (Georgia Aquarium)- $40 Million Florida: Mission Everglades (Zoo Miami)- $33 Million Polk Penguin Center (Detroit Zoo)- $29.5 Million Zambezi River Hippo Camp (Memphis Zoo)- $22.4 Million Arctic Tundra (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $15.3 Million Sea Lion Landing (Riverbanks Zoo)- $12 Million Elephants of the Zambezi Valley (Sedgwick County Zoo)- $10.6 Million Asian Domain Renovation (Audubon Zoo)- $10 Million Hippo Cove (Cincinnati Zoo)- $7.3 Million Penguin Cove (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $7 Million African Exhibit (Turtle Back Zoo)- $7 Million Tiger Passage (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo)- $4.1 Million Giraffe Safari (Abilene Zoo)- $3.8 Million Elephant Encounter (Louisville Zoo)- $3 Million Big Cat Valley (San Antonio Zoo)- $1 Million Little Penguin Exhibit (Louisville Zoo)- $1 Million Moose Habitat (Potter Park Zoo)- $700,000 Tasmanian Devil (Saint Louis Zoo)- $500,000 2015 Elephant Lands (Oregon Zoo)- $57 Million African Adventure (Fresno Chaffee Zoo)- $55.7 Million Gorillas of the African Forest (Houston Zoo)- $28 Million Banyan Wilds II (Woodland Park Zoo)- $19.6 Million Scaly Slimy Spectacular (Zoo Atlanta)- Hamill Family Play Zoo (Brookfield Zoo)- $17.5 Million Polar Bear Point (Saint Louis Zoo)- $16 Million Regenstein Macaque Forest (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $15.5 Million Arctic Edge (Buffalo Zoo)- $14 Million Arctic Passage (Henry Vilas Zoo)- $9.1 Million Orangutan Canopy (Kansas City Zoo)- $6 Million Children’s Zoo Renovation (Bronx Zoo)- $4 Million Penguin Beach (Toledo Zoo)- $3.5 Million Jaguar Exhibit (Los Angeles Zoo)- $3.2 Million Amur/Snow Leopard Exhibit (San Diego Zoo)- $3 Million Giraffe Exhibit (San Antonio Zoo)- $2.5 Million Isle of the Tiger (Phoenix Zoo)- $2.2 Million Wolf Wilderness (Detroit Zoo)- $1.4 Million Forest Glade Renovation (North Carolina Zoo)- $500,000 2014 Journey to Churchill (Assiniboine Park Zoo)- $94.4 Million Heart of Africa (Columbus Zoo)- $30.8 Million Skjodt International Orangutan Center (Indianapolis Zoo)- $26 Million Aquarium (Toledo Zoo)- $25.5 Million Tiger Trail (San Diego Safari Park Zoo)- $19.5 Million Rainforest of the Americas (Los Angeles Zoo)- $19 Million African Savanna (Hogle Zoo)- $16 Million Penguin Coast (Maryland Zoo)- $11.5 Million Land of the Tiger (Jacksonville Zoo)- $9.5 Million Rocky Coast Renovation (North Carolina Zoo)- $8.5 Million Rhino Reserve (Tulsa Zoo)- $3.5 Million Watershed Heroes (Sequoia Park Zoo)- $3.4 Million Condors of Columbia (Oregon Zoo)- $2.6 Million African Wild Dog Exhibit (Saint Louis Zoo)- $1.2 Million 2013 Elephant Trails (National Zoo)- $56 Million Kidzoou (Philadelphia Zoo)- $33 Million Africa (Cincinnati Zoo)- $32 Million* Giant Ocean Tank Renovation (New England Aquarium)- $17 Million Helzberg Penguin Plaza (Kansas City Zoo)- $15 Million Giant Panda Habitat (Toronto Zoo)- $15 Million Encounter Africa (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)- $13.5 Million Grizzly Ridge (Akron Zoo)- $12.8 Million Blacktip Reef (National Aquarium)- $12.6 Million Gorilla Forest (Como Park Zoo)- $11 Million Australian Outback (San Diego Zoo)- $7.4 Million Sea Lion Cove (Turtle Back Zoo)- $5.5 Million LaFortune Wildlife Trek (Tulsa Zoo)- $5 Million Snow Monkeys (Great Plains Zoo)- $4.7 Million Jama Africa (Blank Park Zoo)- $4.5 Million Amur Leopard Habitat (Staten Island Zoo)- $3.5 Million Banyan Wilds Phase I (Woodland Park Zoo)- $2.5 Million Land of the Jaguar (Alexandria Zoo)- $2.2 Million Penguin Exhibit (Scovill Zoo)- $1.5 Million 2012 Toyota Elephant Passage (Denver Zoo)- $50 Million American Trail (National Zoo)- $42 Million Penguin Plunge (Calgary Zoo)- $24.5 Million Rocky Shores (Hogle Zoo)- $18 Million Sea Lion Sound (Saint Louis Zoo)- $17.9 Million Tembo Trail (Toledo Zoo)- $15 Million LAIR (Los Angeles Zoo)- $14.2 Million Sea Lion Cove (Fresno Chaffee Zoo)- $10.5 Million Expedition Tanzania (Reid Park Zoo)- $9.5 Million Scott Aquarium Renovation (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $6.5 Million Sea Lion Cove (Tulsa Zoo)- $5 Million Step Into Africa Phase II (Seneca Park Zoo)- $4.6 Million Valley of the Kings (Knoxville Zoo)- $1.7 Million Black Bear Exhibit (Minnesota Zoo)- $1 Million River Otter Habitat (Central Florida Zoo)- $80,000 2011 Dolphin Tales (Georgia Aquarium)- $110 Million Glacier Run (Louisville Zoo)- $26.3 Million African Elephant Crossing (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo)- $25 Million Heart of the Zoo (Minnesota Zoo)- $20 Million Trail of the Tiger (Virginia Zoo)- $18.5 Million Trails of Africa (Birmingham Zoo)- $15 Million Asian Elephant Habitat (Oklahoma City Zoo)- $13.5 Million Asian Elephants (Honolulu Zoo)- $12 Million Asian Elephant Reserve (Rosamond Gifford Zoo)- $8.5 Million Elephant Woods (Saint Louis Zoo)- $5 Million Orang-Hutan (Phoenix Zoo)- $4 Million Tiger Forest (Indianapolis Zoo)- $1.1 Million Cats of the Canopy (Point Defiance Zoo)- $1 Million Lion Exhibit Renovation (Detroit Zoo)- $1 Million River Otter Habitat (Potawatomi Zoo)- $1 Million 2010 Renovation (Happy Hollow Zoo)- $72 Million Elephants of Asia (Los Angeles Zoo)- $42 Million African Forest (Houston Zoo)- $35 Million Giants of the Savanna (Dallas Zoo)- $32 Million Great Bear Wilderness (Brookfield Zoo)- $27.3 Million Polar Frontier (Columbus Zoo)- $20 Million Passport to Africa (El Paso Zoo)- $17 Million Polar Bear Odyssey (Como Park Zoo)- $15.4 Million Polar Bear Plunge (Kansas City Zoo)- $11 Million Expedition Madagascar (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $10.5 Million Africa Live Phase II (San Antonio Zoo)- $10 Million Children’s Zoo (Oklahoma City Zoo)- $8.3 Million Red Ape Reserve (Oregon Zoo)- $3.5 Million Realm of the Tiger (Baton Rouge Zoo)- $3.2 Million Cheetah Exhibit (Indianapolis Zoo)- $2 Million Sumatran Tigers (Jackson Zoo)- $1.2 Million Tierra las Pampas (Santa Ana Zoo)- $1.1 Million Red Wolf Woods (Point Defiance Zoo)- $1.1 Million 2009 Oceanarium Renovation (Shedd Aquarium)- $50 Million Elephant Odyssey (San Diego Zoo)- $45 Million Africa (Peoria Zoo)- $27.4 Million McNeil Avian Center (Philadelphia Zoo)- $17.5 Million Teton Trek (Memphis Zoo)- $16 Million Snow Leopard Habitat (Central Park Zoo)- $10.6 Million Tundra Trek (Toronto Zoo)- $10 Million African Journey (Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo)- $9 Million California Trails (Santa Barbara Zoo)- $7.5 Million Predators of the Serengeti (Oregon Zoo)- $7.1 Million Penguins of the Coastal Desert (Woodland Park Zoo)- $6.5 Million Langur Exhibit (Los Angeles Zoo)- $6.4 Million Tropics (Kansas City Zoo)- $5.1 Million Tiger Trek (Sedgwick County Zoo)- $3 Million Gibbon Exhibit (Turtle Back Zoo)- $1.8 Million Land of the Dragons (Phoenix Zoo)- $1.2 Million 2008 Steinhart Aquarium (California Academy of Sciences)- $500 Million Madagascar (Bronx Zoo)- $62 Million Amazon and Beyond (Zoo Miami)- $50 Million Russia’s Grizzly Coast (Minnesota Zoo)- $29.6 Million Jungala (Busch Gardens)- $20 Million Rainforest Falls (Buffalo Zoo)- $16 Million Amazonia (Mesker Park Zoo)- $13 Million Africa Live Phase I (San Antonio Zoo)- $12 Million Watani Grasslands (North Carolina Zoo)- $8.7 Million Rocky Mountain Wild (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)- $8.5 Million McNair Asian Elephant Habitat Renovation (Houston Zoo)- $5 Million Lions of Lake Manyara (John Ball Zoo)- $4 Million African Exhibit (Zoo Boise)- $2.8 Million Giraffe Ridge (Cincinnati Zoo)- $1.6 Million Tiger Exhibit (Dakota Zoo)- $1.2 Million Tiger Tundra (Louisville Zoo)- $250,000 2007 Window on Washington Waters (Seattle Aquarium)- $41 Million Journey Into Africa (San Diego Safari Park)- $40 Million Campo Gorilla Reserve (Los Angeles Zoo)- $19 Million Oklahoma City Zoo (Oklahoma Trails)- $10.3 Million Oceans Renovation (Indianapolis Zoo)- $9.5 Million Astor Court Renovation (Bronx Zoo)- $6.7 Million Grizzly Gulch (San Francisco Zoo)- $3.7 Million Minnesota Trail Renovation (Minnesota Zoo)- $2.5 Million Gorilla Exhibit Renovation (Franklin Park Zoo)- $2.3 Million Black Bear Ridge (Oregon Zoo)- $2 Million Penguin Cove (Sedgwick County Zoo)- $1.5 Million Wild Kingdom Pavilion Renovation (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $1 Million Red Panda Village (Knoxville Zoo)- $500,000 2006 Asia Trail (National Zoo)- $53 Million Northwest Passage (Memphis Zoo)- $23 Million Big Cat Falls (Philadelphia Zoo)- $20 Million Asia Quest (Columbus Zoo)- $14 Million Water’s Edge (Pittsburgh Zoo)- $12.5 Million Step Into Africa (Seneca Park Zoo)- 7.5 Million Play Park (Jacksonville Zoo)- $6.7 Million Asian Highlands (Hogle Zoo)- $6 Million Cougar Crossing (Oregon Zoo)- $685,000 2005 Georgia Aquarium- $290 Million Monkey Trails and Forest Tales (San Diego Zoo)- $28.5 Million Sea Life Cliffs/Entrance (Los Angeles Zoo)- $28 Million Children’s Adventure (Oakland Zoo)- $15 Million Pritzker Children’s Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $13.9 Million Dolphin Adventure Dome (Indianapolis Zoo)- $10 Million Brazos River Country (Cameron Park Zoo)- $8.6 Million Hubbard Orangutan Forest (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $8.5 Million Big Cat Country (Milwaukee County Zoo)- $7.5 Million Fragile Forest (Saint Louis Zoo)- $7 Million Elephant Encounter (Hogle Zoo)- $5.5 Million Sea Lion Cove (Buffalo Zoo)- $5.1 Million Natural Encounters (Houston Zoo)- $5 Million African Elephant Savanna (Nashville Zoo)- $3.3 Million Giraffe Overlook (Jacksonville Zoo)- $2.9 Million Otter Outpost (Dallas Zoo)- $1.9 Million 2004 Regenstein Center for African Apes (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $25.7 Million Africa! (Toledo Zoo)- $20 Million Tropics of the Americas (Palm Beach Zoo)- $18 Million Predator Ridge (Denver Zoo)- $16.5 Million Range of the Jaguar (Jacksonville Zoo)- $15.4 Million Hubbard Gorilla Valley (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $14 Million Asian Forest Sanctuary (Point Defiance Zoo)- $10 Million Australia (Columbus Zoo)- $6 Million Africa (Rio Grande Zoo)- $6 Million Downing Gorilla Forest (Sedgwick County Zoo)- $5.5 Million Lion Camp (San Diego Safari Park)- $5 Million Otter Creek (Buffalo Zoo)- $5.1 Million (includes cost of Sea Lion Cove) Regenstein Wolf Woods (Brookfield Zoo)- $2.4 Million Eagle Canyon (Oregon Zoo) $2.1 Million Himalayan Passage (Chattanooga Zoo)- $500,000 2003 Wild Reef (Shedd Aquarium)- $47 Million Destination Africa (Calgary Zoo)- $32.5 Million Kingdoms of the Night (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $31.5 Million (including Desert Dome) Regenstein African Journey (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $23 Million Wings of Asia (Memphis Zoo)- $13.5 Million African Rift Valley (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo)- $11 Million Tiger Mountain (Bronx Zoo)- $8.4 Million Penguin and Puffin Coast (Saint Louis Zoo)- $8.3 Million Islands (Columbus Zoo)- $8 Million Polar Bear Watch (Maryland Zoo)- $7 Million Expedition Africa (Brevard Zoo)- $5 Million Jaguar Cove (Woodland Park Zoo)- $4.3 Million Tropical Encounters (Como Park Zoo)- $2.1 Million 2002 Desert Dome (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $31.5 Million (including Kingdoms of the Night) Ndoki Forest (Riverbanks Zoo)- $19 Million Okavango Delta (Virginia Zoo)- $15.8 Million China (Memphis Zoo)- $15.5 Million Gorilla Forest (Louisville Zoo)- $15 Million Lemur Forest (San Francisco Zoo)- $15 Million Rivers Edge Phase III (Saint Louis Zoo)- $8 Million African Elephant Reserve (Indianapolis Zoo)- $7.8 Million Jellies (Monterey Bay Aquarium)- $2.5 Million Vanishing Animals (Buffalo Zoo)- $2.4 Million Tiger Lair (Minnesota Zoo)- $1.8 Million African Wild Dog Exhibit (Woodland Park Zoo)- $1.4 Million 2001 Texas Wild (Fort Worth Zoo)- $45 Million Arctic Ring of Life (Detroit Zoo)- $15.9 Million Rivers Edge Phase II (Saint Louis Zoo)- $7.8 Million McGovern Children’s Zoo (Houston Zoo)- $6.7 Million Mokomboso Valley (John Ball Zoo)- $5 Million Giant Panda Renovation (San Diego Zoo)- $4 Million Winnick Children’s Zoo (Los Angeles Zoo)- $3.4 Million Giant Panda Renovation (San Diego Zoo)- $1.8 Million Wild Florida (Jacksonville Zoo)- $1.5 Million Kiera Chimpanzee Forest (North Carolina Zoo)- $1.4 Million Siamang/Gibbon (Nashville Zoo)- $450,000 2000 PPG Aquarium (Pittsburgh Zoo)- $17.4 Million Arctic Encounter (Toledo Zoo)- $11.5 Million Stellar Cove (Oregon Zoo)- $10 Million Australian Adventure (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo)- $10 Million Habitat Africa the Forest (Brookfield Zoo)- $8 Million Lacerte Children’s Zoo (Dallas Zoo)- $7 Million Vanishing Giants (Cincinnati Zoo)- $6.5 Million Red Ape Rainforest (Los Angeles Zoo)- $6.5 Million Amphibville (Detroit Zoo)- $6 Million Insectarium (Saint Louis Zoo)- $4 Million Condor Ridge (San Diego Safari Park)- $3.5 Million Pride of the Plains (Sedgwick County Zoo)- $2.1 Million 1999 Congo Gorilla Forest (Bronx Zoo)- $43 Million PECO Primate Reserve (Philadelphia Zoo)- $24 Million Manatee Coast (Columbus Zoo)- $10 Million Rivers Edge Phase I (Saint Louis Zoo)- $8.5 Million Giant Panda Research Station (Zoo Atlanta)- $7 Million Manatee Springs (Cincinnati Zoo)- $ 4.5 Million Ituri Forest (San Diego Zoo)- $4.4 Million Owens Rainforest Aviary (San Diego Zoo)- $4 Million Exxon Tiger Habitat (Dallas Zoo)- $3.4 Million 1998 Disney’s Animal Kingdom- $750 Million Cascade Crest (Oregon Zoo)- $15.7 Million African Savanna (Toronto Zoo)- $12.5 Million African Forest Phase I (Columbus Zoo)- $8 Million Chimpanzees of Mahale Mountain (Los Angeles Zoo)- $5 Million Emerson Children’s Zoo (Saint Louis Zoo)- $5 Million Pachyderm Renovation (Columbus Zoo)- $4 Million Jaguar Jungle (Audubon Zoo)- $2.2 Million 1997 Living Coast (Brookfield Zoo)- $15 Million Cat Forest/Lion Overlook (Oklahoma City Zoo)- $8.7 Million Rocky Shores (Seneca Park Zoo)- $8.2 Million Heart of Africa (San Diego Safari Park)- $7 Million Tropical Rainforest (Tulsa Zoo)- $7.7 Million Wolf Wilderness (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo)- $2.9 Million Regenstein Small Mammal-Reptile House (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $2.5 Million Seabird Colony (Bronx Zoo)- $2 Million Kimberly Clark Chimpanzee Forest (Dallas Zoo)- $1.9 Million 1996 Primate Panorama (Denver Zoo)- $14 Million Trail of Vines (Woodland Park Zoo)- $8 Million Polar Plunge (San Diego Zoo)- $5 Million The Swamp (Brookfield Zoo)- $5 Million African Elephant Exhibit (Jacksonville Zoo)- $2.5 Milliion Bird Garden (Saint Louis Zoo)- $2 Million KOCH Orangutan and Chimpanzee Habitat (Sedgwick County Zoo)- $1.2 Million Sumatran Rhinoceros Exhibit (Cincinnati Zoo)- $1 Million Colors of the Amazon (Santa Ana Zoo)- $600,000 Sun Bear Exhibit (Oakland Zoo)- $380,000 1995 Africa (Kansas City Zoo)- $30 Million Scott Aquarium (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $16 Million Islands (Louisville Zoo)- $11.5 Million Chimpanzee Forest (Maryland Zoo)- $5.8 Million Think Tank (National Zoo)- $4 Million Hippo Beach (San Diego Zoo)- $3.9 Million Aquatic and Reptile Center (Milwaukee County Zoo)- $3.3 Million 1994 Northern Trail (Woodland Park Zoo)- $8.9 Million McNair Asian Elephant Habitat (Houston Zoo)- $1.2 Million 1993 Tropical Discovery (Denver Zoo)- $11.5 Million Habitat Africa (Brookfield Zoo)- $8 Million Jungle Trails (Cincinnati Zoo)- $7.5 Million Wortham World of Primates (Houston Zoo)- $7.5 Million Kingdom of the Apes (Toledo Zoo)- $7.5 Million Great Escape (Oklahoma City Zoo)- $6.6 Million Cat Country (Memphis Zoo)- $5.3 Million Sonora Desert (North Carolina Zoo)- $4.1 Million Amazon’s Edge (Santa Ana Zoo)- $1 Million Giant Panda Habitat (San Diego Zoo)- $800,000 1992 The Rainforest (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo)- $30 Million Lied Jungle (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $15 Million Amazonia (National Zoo)- $12 Million Rare Apes of Africa (Milwaukee County Zoo)- $10.7 Million Tropical Rain Forest (Woodland Park Zoo)- $9.2 Million World of Primates (Fort Worth Zoo)- $6 Million Carnivore Kingdom (Philadelphia Zoo)- $6 Million African Watering Hole (Maryland Zoo)- $4.2 Million Helen Brach Primate House Renovation (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $3 Million Asian Elephant Exhibit (Point Defiance Zoo)- $2.3 Million 1991 Gorilla Tropics (San Diego Zoo)- $11.5 Million Tropical Forest (Pittsburgh Zoo)- $8.8 Million African Rainforest (Oregon Zoo)- $4.3 Million McCormick Bird House Renovation (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $2.8 Million
1990 Oceanarium (Shedd Aquarium)- $43 Million Wilds of Africa (Dallas Zoo)- $27 Million Fragile Kingdom (Brookfield Zoo)- $4 Million Kovler Lion House Renovation (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $3.9 Million Baboon Reserve (Bronx Zoo)- $3.7 Million Jake L. Hammon Gorilla Conservation Research Center (Dallas Zoo)- $3.7 Million Black Rhinoceros Exhibit (Zoo Atlanta)- $950,000 Monkeys of Makoku (Zoo Atlanta)- $877,000 1989 Tropical Forest (Franklin Park Zoo)- $26 Million Living World (Saint Louis Zoo)- $18 Million Great Apes of Harambee (Detroit Zoo)- $7.5 Million Elephant Forest (Woodland Park Zoo)- $6 Million Maryland Wilderness (Maryland Zoo)- $5.7 Million Masai Mara (Zoo Atlanta)- $5.2 Million Zoo Center (Bronx Zoo)- $4 Million Sun Bear Forest (San Diego Zoo)- $3.5 Million Bear Canyon (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $1.4 Million 1988 New Zoo (Indianapolis Zoo)- $64 Million Renovation (Central Park Zoo)- $35 Million Ford African Rainforest (Zoo Atlanta)- $6.5 Million Tiger River (San Diego Zoo)- $5.8 Million 1987 Seven Seas Panorama/Pinniped Point (Brookfield Zoo)- $12 Million Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom Pavilion (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $2 Million 1986 Aquatics (Oklahoma City Zoo)- $5.2 Million Jungle of the Apes (Saint Louis Zoo)- $5 Million Mountain Exhibit (Arizona Sonora Desert Museum)- $2.5 Million Himalayan Highlands (Bronx Zoo)- $700,000 1985 Jungle World (Bronx Zoo)- $9.5 Million 1984 Tropic World (Brookfield Zoo)- $10.8 Million Louisiana Swamp (Audubon Zoo)- $1.8 Million 1982 Large Mammal Building (Lincoln Park Zoo)- $11.7 Million Carter Giraffe Building (Bronx Zoo)- $2.5 Million Cascade Stream (Oregon Zoo)- $1.3 Million 1980 African Plains (Woodland Park Zoo)- $4 Million 1979 Bird House Renovation (Saint Louis Zoo)- $1.5 Million Gorilla Habitat (Woodland Park Zoo)- $500,000 1978 Herpetarium Renovation (Saint Louis Zoo)- $1 Million 1977 Wild Asia (Bronx Zoo)- $6.6 Million Cat Complex (Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo)- $2.5 Million Primate House Renovation (Saint Louis Zoo)- $850,000 1976 Big Cat Country (Saint Louis Zoo)- $1.6 Million 1975 Drive-Through Reserve (Northwest Trek)- $500,000
Some of these numbers are obscene... $94 million for Assiniboine Park? $68 million for Africa Rocks? $110 million for Georgia Aquarium's dolphin exhibit? I wonder how these budgets end up running so high, and if they could have done anything to cut costs.
Yes it's mindboggling to think that some exhibits cost so much to make while ones of similar if not better quality at other institutions are made for much less.
I'm going to guess that location has everything to do with it. I can't speak for Assiniboine,as I've never heard of that institution myself,but San Diego and Atlanta are both major cities. Ridiculous building costs are a fact of life. As for cutting costs,a few exhibits were already scrapped from Africa Rocks. Beyond that it'd be interesting to see what more could have been done without too severely compromising exhibit size.
Location definitely is one thing that causes such drastically different costs. Another major issue (which would be difficult, if not impossible, to control for) is how each zoo calculates these exhibit costs, specifically what costs are included. Some of these projects involved substantial demolition of existing infrastructure - is this included in the cost of construction? Is there reuse of existing off-exhibit holding or other facilities, or is the entire area actually built from scratch? What about the incorporation of new restrooms, concessions, gift shops, etc.? Without knowing more about the specifics of what each exhibit's reported costs include, it's difficult to make any meaningful comparison between exhibits. Of course, when looking over such a large span of time, inflation also has to be taken into account. Without recognizing these difficulties comparing costs from exhibit to exhibit, these costs are hard to contextualize. For an example of the folly of comparison (that's close to my home and deals with exhibits I know very well), look at the reported costs of Columbus's Heart of Africa ($30.8 million) compared to Cincinnati's Africa ($32 million). I think few who would look at the two exhibits could see how Cincinnati spent $1.2 million less. But Cincinnati's exhibit was built in phases - does that number include all portions of Africa (including the hippo exhibit, which is separately accounted for elsewhere, and the giraffe section, which was completed years before the main exhibit)? Does Cincinnati's figure include the cost of demolition of the existing parking lot (Columbus had mostly empty land to contend with)? What about the costs of the theater where cheetah runs are held - is this considered part of Africa? If so, it's infrastructure that is missing from Columbus, where cheetah runs are held in the waterhole, with no guest seating. Without really looking at the figures for each exhibit and how each zoo arrived at them, I don't think comparing the reported costs really gives anyone much to go off when making comparisons, especially between different zoos.
Without considering the size of the exhibit, number of species, number of holding areas to be built, whether any existing holding areas, pools, etc were re-used, whether there was LSS (life support systems like pool filtration), big viewing glass/plexi areas, what had to be demolished for construction to even begin, whether the "new" exhibit was simply a refurbishment/redesign of an existing complex (Manatee Springs comes to mind), local construction costs (far cheaper to build in Des Moines than in L.A.), etc. you will never understand these numbers. Assiniboine is a huge exhibit with ambitious underwater views. Columbus Zoo's Africa was built on soy fields on the fringe of the zoo while Cincinnati's included demolition of the parking lots. Columbus required infrastructure. Cincinnati included vast underground water cistern to make the exhibit more sustainable. McNeil Avian Center (Philadelphia) is another renovation and also included geothermal wells to make it more sustainable. Range of the Jaguar and Giants of the Savanna include restaurants, some exhibits include new bathrooms, some gift shops, etc. Georgia Aquarium's dolphin "exhibit" is actually an expansion of the building in a very expensive construction market (and I am not sure your figure is correct: Georgia Aquarium Dolphin Expansion, Atlanta | 2011-01-01 | ENR ) Elephant Trails (SNZP) included renovation of a historic landmark elephant house. And, btw, the Congo Gorilla Forest figure is fiction.
As others said - costs mean nothing without construction costs in the area. These however, might be findable on the internet. Interesting would be comparing to a hypothetical no-frills exhibit - a building of the same size and a paddock of the same size surrounded by a cheapest fence (perhaps chainlink).
