Something new for the Jackson Zoo?
Mayor John Horhn announced during the City Council meeting Tuesday that the Planning and Development Department will soon seek bids for companies interested in developing the property encompassing the long-ailing zoo.
The effort is still in the planning stages, with the bid documents yet to be finalized. Horhn pledged last year during his first State of the City address to revitalize the zoo. He said Tuesday that he believes the city has several “inducements” to entice developers to the property, such as state and federal tax credits.
The city will be looking for developers who specialize in attractions, Horhn said, adding that if the project is successful, “it would be gigantic.”
Who’s visiting the zoo?
The city-run zoo is in west Jackson, a few miles from downtown on West Capitol Street. In recent years, the number of visitors has tumbled, impacting revenue. WLBT reported the zoo hasn’t made more than $100,000 since at least 2021.
While the zoo still has more than 100 animals, many of its exhibits are shabby and sun-damaged. Last year, the zoo had to relocate its chimpanzees after the city discovered a water leak in a moat surrounding the habitat was leading to “million-dollar plus” water bills.
In addition to the structural problems, the zoo is in a part of Jackson experiencing concentrated blight, including a burned-out church on Capitol Street and numerous abandoned homes.
“The zoo for many years was the anchor to west Jackson, and it was the number one attraction in the state,” Horhn said. “We’d like to return it to the top attraction in the state, and we think it can be an economic driver for west Jackson.”
The property’s myriad issues have led to various proposals over the years from state and county officials to close the zoo or relocate it to northeast Jackson. Though ranging in seriousness, none of these efforts have come to fruition.
In 2018, the Jackson Zoological Society – a now-defunct organization that had managed the zoo since the 1980s – said the zoo was “definitely” moving. The society commissioned studies showing investors wouldn’t donate to the zoo at its current location.
In 2023, David Archie, then a Hinds County supervisor, attempted and failed to use more than $7 million in county funds to relocate the zoo – money originally allocated to fixing a water tower in west Jackson. He wanted to rename it the Hinds County Public Zoo.
“Why not place it where everybody can get to it in peace, and they can see it,” Archie said, according to WLBT.
Talk of improving the area
Then-Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, whom Horhn defeated last year, came out against moving the zoo, which he had described as an effort to pilfer resources from a majority-Black part of Jackson.
Shortly before he left office, Lumumba and his planning and development director, Jhai Keeton, proposed plans to build an amphitheater at Livingston Park, a large green space featuring a lake that sits next to the zoo.
Horhn’s administration shelved the project, WLBT reported, amid considerations over the zoo’s future. But in doing so, the city was actually pulling a plan from the past, said Pieter Teeuwissen, the city’s chief administrative officer.
“The idea has always been to try to develop Livingston Park,” he said. “That’s not new.”
Teeuwissen said the city needs to dredge the lake and fix the splash pads.
“The city’s finances by themselves are not going to carry the vision, but the hope is that there will be some interest by somebody who sees this proposal and comes up with an idea,” he said.
Ward 5 council member Vernon Hartley, who represents the neighborhood where the zoo is located, was chuffed to hear the mayor’s announcement.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to come out,” he said. “It’s not dead.”
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