Within 60 miles of Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence are six zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Now one of them, Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, wants to expand, and Roger Williams is paying attention.
“We do see it as competition, a kind of friendly competition,” said Roger Williams Park Zoo Executive Director Jack Mulvena.
The city-owned Buttonwood Park Zoo recently unveiled a multistage plan that would ultimately double the park’s size to 20 acres and add new facilities and exhibits. The zoo says the plan, if approved by the city, would ensure the park keeps accreditation and stays competitive as an attraction.
“The zoo industry doesn’t stand still and what was state of the art 10 years ago isn’t so anymore,” zoo Director William Langbauer said.
A master plan released in October outlines a gradual expansion of the zoo over a decade or so.
The first phase – a roughly four-acre expansion taking about three years – includes a new entrance facility and administrative offices, a renovated pathway through the zoo, a new discovery center for hands-on learning and an expanded Asia exhibit. The estimated $25 million project would provide enough room for a third elephant and more animals.
Future proposals consist of a new animal hospital and roomier exhibits that would create a six-acre expansion into Buttonwood Park. That work would start after the completion of the first phase and take at least four years to finish. A cost has yet to be estimated.
Langbauer said that the zoo must evolve to provide new reasons for visitors to return. The park, which draws about 220,000 visitors a year, also wants to maintain its status as the most-visited attraction in Bristol County and put itself on firmer financial footing.
But Langbauer said Buttonwood, now about 10 acres, would always remain distant from Roger Williams Park Zoo, which covers a sprawling 40 acres and boasts nearly 700,000 visitors annually. Buttonwood’s smaller size, he said, is a selling point.
Both zoos, however, want to woo the same visitor: young children who often bring their families in tow. Langbauer said attractions that feature elephants and tigers – like those proposed – are far easier to sell than exhibits that host salamanders.
“Once you get somebody in the door you can excite them about” lesser attractions, Langbauer said.
The model resembles one Roger Williams is already undertaking. The zoo plans to build a $5.9 million exhibit centered on educating children about wildlife. In the past few years, the zoo has finished upgrades to its food and retail facilities, and Tropics and African exhibits. It is also wrapping up work on a new animal hospital. Mulvena, the zoo director, said the hope is to encourage people that may have visited once to return.
“We’re fortunate that we launched our plans,” Mulvena said.
Buttonwood released its plan in the midst of a difficult economy. The zoo has yet to identify money to pay for the expansion. Langbauer said that would come only after the master plan is approved. He anticipated the expansion would ultimately be paid for through a combination of grants and city and state money.
The zoo’s plans face stiff opposition from the Friends of Buttonwood Park, a local nonprofit that supports the maintenance and management of the park. The group says the zoo’s expansion plans would intrude on the park and continue urban sprawl.
Langbauer said the zoo has offered to clear forested land to replace the open space an expansion would take. And he stressed the park never wanted to become so large that it lost its niche.
“There’s a whole bunch of balancing acts we need to do,” he said. •
