The Seneca Park Zoo is set to undergo a $100 million expansion. The expansion will add two new structures to the Seneca Park Zoo – a tropics exhibit and a main entry building, both inspired by the adjacent Genesee river valley. Its plan for the new exhibit and welcome building includes sustainable materials, native plantings, and sensitive scale and siting.
Inspired by the adjacent Genesee River Valley and the conservation efforts of Seneca Park Zoo, the new Entry and Tropics Pavilion create a valley through which visitors will engage with tropical ecosystems in Africa and Asia, highlighting unique connections between the region and the world. The addition strengthens the connection between the zoo, the visitor, the park, Monroe County, and Western New York while extending the Zoo’s conservation and education mission to a new generation of guests. Indoor and outdoor rainforest habitats initiate the visitor experience and provide new infrastructure for ticketing, visitor amenities, education, events and retail. Composed of sustainable materials, native plantings, universal design, sensitive scale and siting, the project aims at integrating with the much-loved landscape of Seneca Park and the wider Monroe County Parks system designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
The 22,000-square-foot entry plaza will provide new infrastructure for ticketing offices, as well as classroom and education space, event space, administrative offices, and a retail outlet. The 48,000-square-foot tropics exhibit will be a multi-level immersive experience with indoor rainforest habitats, outdoor microclimates and aquariums. Native animal species will be houses in a 150,000-gallon Pacific Reef tank and other tropical habitats. Both of the new buildings will contribute to the Seneca Park Zoo’s conservation efforts to save animals from extinction and protect wildlife.
