Zoo to unveil $18M butterfly house, Conservatory to be rebuilt

2006-06-13

Kerry Williamson, Calgary Herald

The Calgary Zoo will today announce plans to redevelop one of its marquee buildings, an $18-million project that will include a massive butterfly house, banquet and wedding facilities and a new botanical garden.

The redevelopment of the aging glass conservatory has long been planned as a final phase of the zoo's Project Discovery, but has moved up the priority list thanks to an undisclosed sponsorship by Enmax.

The sponsorship will be announced as the "most significant partnership" for a development in the zoo's history.

It means the conservatory project will now be built ahead of the controversial Arctic Shores exhibit, with construction set to begin as early as next year and a completion date set for 2009.

"It's a complete rebuilding of the conservatory," said Laurie Herron, spokeswoman for the Calgary Zoo. "It's a major one and I think one that people will be really interested in. It's been moved up on the agenda because of the sponsorship agreement.

"It's going to be very cool."

The conservatory redevelopment has been on the zoo's books for several years, but it has been overshadowed by the $100-million Arctic Shores -- the centrepiece of the zoo's $120-million expansion that will feature polar bears and other cold-weather mammals.

Work wasn't expected to begin on the conservatory until at least 2010, after Arctic Shores was completed and open to the public, but the Enmax sponsorship means work can now begin two years earlier than planned.

The sponsorship agreement will see the city-owned power company develop part of the new conservatory building into a demonstration of green technologies. Enmax president and CEO Gary Holden told the Herald that the agreement involved significant investment from the company.

"The conservatory at the zoo is being rebuilt, and we have made an agreement with the zoo to use that conservatory to demonstrate a lot of these technologies. . . . We'll have whisper (generators) in there, wind turbines, solar panels," said Holden.

"It's going to be our public demonstration of this technology, so anyone that goes to the zoo can actually see it in action, and then when they come to the point in their lives to make a technology choice, they will have some awareness."

Holden refused to comment on how much the sponsorship deal is worth.

"It's an investment we will make over time. Most of the investment is equipment and technology," he said. "Yes (there is an investment) but I'm not going to say what it is."

Phase 1 of Project Discovery is set to open June 22, with the completion of the new elephant enclosure, Elephant Crossing. That development will triple the outdoor area for the zoo's four elephants.

It was originally budgeted as an $8.5-million project, but that leapt to $10 million because of soaring construction costs that have driven up the price of most major projects in the city. Work is also underway on the redevelopment of the north entrance.

Herron said Arctic Shores is still on schedule, but is largely dependent on funding from the federal government. The province has already committed $35 million, but the zoo is still waiting to hear if Ottawa will come through with $40 million.

"Federal funding is the key for that one," said Herron. "We are hopeful, but we don't have an amount yet -- we are hoping for $40 million."

The conservatory was built in 1964, and has not undergone any major redevelopments since. More details will be revealed at a press conference today, but it will include a new garden that will help preserve threatened and endangered North American butterflies, a teahouse and an "ethno-botanical garden."

It will be transformed into a "living classroom" aimed at teaching visitors about human dependency on plants. It will include an interactive classroom and laboratory spaces, interpretive displays, programming and event areas.

"It has a lot to do with our ecological footprint on the world, which is very timely these days with the focus on the environment and global warming," said Herron. "It certainly speaks to that."