Riverbanks Zoo Plans $40 Million In Renovations

Columbia, SC -– Officials at the Riverbanks Zoo, in Columbia, have laid out their plans to spend roughly $40 million on renovations.

The plans call for the addition of an interactive children’s garden, new animal exhibits, and an expansion of the zoo’s entry complex.

A proposed Asian animal exhibit would cost roughly $15 million and feature animals such as Komodo dragons and Tasmanian devils.

The money would come from taxpayers in Lexington and Richland counties, which help to fund the zoo.

Zoo Director Satch Krantz says a formal appeal for the funding has not yet been made.

“We still have a lot of work to do in terms of talking to those folks on both sides of the river in Richland and Lexington County. Answering all their questions and making them feel comfortable about what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Krantz says if the county councils approve the plan, a taxpayer, with a home valued at $100,000, would see a tax increase of $4 a year.

Riverbanks Zoo is one of the most popular tourist attractions in South Carolina, which drew nearly a million visitors last fiscal year.

Zoo officials hope that the renovations would help to further improve attendance figures.

“We feel if we’re able to construct all of these facilities and complete this expansion, it’s gonna be a whole new Riverbanks.”

According to Krantz, construction on the project likely wouldn’t begin before 2011 and each new attraction would take about a year to 18 months to complete.