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Board approves Wings of Wonder enclosed aviary design; staff to value-engineer over budget proposal
Summary
The Parks Board approved the submitted design set for the zoo’s Wings of Wonder enclosed aviary, directing staff and the architect to reduce costs to meet available funds after presentations highlighted avian-flu transmission risk and year-round exhibit benefits.
The Michigan City Parks and Recreation Board approved the Wings of Wonder design set March 5 and authorized staff to work with the architect on value engineering to reduce estimated costs.
Zoo staff and representatives from Keil Architecture presented a fully enclosed aviary design intended to protect mixed-species birds from avian influenza and to permit year-round exhibit operation. Zoo director Jamie Huss said the enclosure would reduce the need to move birds to off-display holding areas and would allow the exhibit to operate in rain or snow, with lighting for evening events.
Architectural presenter Sam (Kil Architecture) displayed floor plans and 3-D views showing a climate-controlled steel-frame building with significant natural light through glass and clerestory openings. The design would connect to an existing building on the west side and incorporate egress, lighting and mechanical systems to meet life-safety requirements.
Staff acknowledged the current design exceeds the project’s available funding. The department reported approximately $167,000 available in zoo-related endowment funds and said it may draw from concession cash balances and donations while seeking additional funding sources. Staff described a plan to value-engineer the design and return with reduced-scope documents for construction bidding; they said they had scheduled a meeting with the architect to identify cost-saving changes.
Board members asked for the design approval to proceed on a conditional basis to allow the value-engineering process. The motion passed by voice vote with no recorded dissent.
Project cost estimates presented at the meeting placed the design in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars (staff said the current design is approximately $500,000), while staff initially hoped to deliver the project for a much smaller budget; staff asked the board to approve the design as submitted with the understanding that scope and materials will be revised to reach an affordable target.
