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Minnesota Zoo seeks designer, builder for $22 million project

Brian Johnson//November 7, 2019//

The Minnesota Zoo is seeking design and construction services for this $22 million “treetop trail” amenity. (Submitted rendering: Minnesota Zoo)

The Minnesota Zoo is seeking design and construction services for this $22 million “treetop trail” amenity. (Submitted rendering: Minnesota Zoo)

Minnesota Zoo seeks designer, builder for $22 million project

Brian Johnson//November 7, 2019//

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The Minnesota Zoo plans to have a design and construction team in place by mid-December for its $22 million “treetop trail” project, a reuse of the zoo’s long-shuttered monorail tracks. Then comes the trickier part of convincing the Legislature to help pay for the project.

In a new request for proposals, the zoo is seeking an architecture team to oversee design through the construction administration phase. Proposals are due Nov. 26 and interviews could take place Dec. 9-13.

The zoo is on the same timeline for construction services. A solicitation is on the streets for a construction manager at risk, which will be responsible for cost estimation, constructability review and general contractor services.

The team will oversee a project to turn the idle monorail infrastructure into a 1.3-mile elevated walkway, which will give zoo visitors a panoramic view of animals, vegetation and wetlands. Monorail tracks have been unused since 2013.

After the team is selected in mid-December, the project will move into an eight-month design phase, said Zach Nugent, a zoo spokesman.

But there’s still work to be done on the money side. The project is expected to be paid for with a combination of private and state funds. The Minnesota Zoo Foundation is actively raising funds for the project, Nugent said. The zoo has already raised $8.552 million, he said.

In addition, the zoo is seeking $11 million for the project as part of its 2020 capital investment request.

John Frawley, the zoo’s director, told the Minnesota House Capital Investment Committee in March that the monorail system has been “dormant and obsolete” since 2013. The tracks have been sitting empty because it would cost more than $50 million to “repower” the cars, he said at the committee meeting.

The treetop trial isn’t the only project on the zoo’s plate. Its other 2020 state bonding requests include $12.5 million for asset preservation ranging from new roofs and skylights to bridge and trail repairs, and $15.5 million to repurpose the former Imax theater building, reopen the nocturnal trail and renovate the animal hospital.

Imax vacated the zoo’s theater building last January. In its place, the zoo wants to “transform the building and its scenic, forested hill” into a “nature adventure hub” with “indoor and outdoor-themed challenge courses,” according to the capital request.

In addition, the zoo said it wants to repurpose the old nocturnal exhibit into an attraction that mimics the experience of “traveling from ocean floor to treetop canopy.” The nocturnal exhibit has been closed for 10 years.

The animal hospital needs “significant renovation to meet industry standards for animal care,” the zoo said. The renovation would include HVAC and electrical upgrades, exterior repairs, and a new ambulance bay.

The renovated hospital would allow guests to observe and learn about zoo veterinary care, while co-locating animal programs and updating work spaces, the zoo said. Built in 1975, the hospital predates the opening of the zoo.

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