MIDLAND, Texas — The Zoo Midland project officially took another step forward on Monday as Midland’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the final plat for the offsite piece of the project.
The offsite piece is essentially the behind-the-scenes part of Zoo Midland.
The over four-acre piece of land in east Midland will be used in a number of ways to go hand in hand with the zoo.
“Every time we get a little bit closer to breaking ground, that’s super exciting and kind of a little bit energizing," said Jason Green, director of Zoo Midland.
While still years away, Zoo Midland has secured an important part of the process.
“By having that facility, the storage alone gives us a lot of flexibility that we can keep a nice, clean space there at the zoo, and then keep those things that you may only need a couple times," Green said.
Storage is just one way the offsite area will help the zoo better operate.
“The ability to have the greenhouses where we can grow our plants and kind of regenerate those, as well as growing some produce, those are huge," Green said. "There are a lot of zoos across the country that will be envious of that because not every facility has those offsite spaces – they have to do it on grounds.”
Speaking of other zoos, some animals that come from elsewhere to Midland will need to be quarantined, which takes about 30 to 60 days.
“Your best practice is to bring it into a quarantine, make sure it took the trip really well and make sure there are no...common colds or respiratory issues whatsoever," Green said. "You can also transition them to diet that you may be feeding them locally, and so that gives you that monitoring time to where you’re not putting any of your animals in your collection at risk.”
With the land now officially approved, momentum continues.
“We’ll work on breaking ground on that site and so we can get that quarantine building up, as well as one of the storage buildings that will go in there as well -- and then from there it’s working on the main zoo property," Green said. "We wanted to get this is as sort of our initial stage...infrastructure for the zoo so it’s done and ready, as we move forward this is ready a couple of years from now when we’re ready to receive animals.”
Green added that they are looking to begin construction at the offsite area at some point in the months to come.
Plenty of work remains before animals can come in, with the target date currently set for Zoo Midland opening in early 2028.