Jackson Jambalaya

I moved here in late 1996. One of the first articles I read in the CL was a banner story touting the renovation of the "Farrist Street Entertainment Districts". Figure this project will run along those same time lines...

Well if we hadn't just spent that $90 million on those dandy new water meters this would be no problem...........

Is this dated August 2015?

Okay, so who will pay for the improvements! Jackson, Hinds County, and the State of Mississippi have financial issues and have been "ran down to the ground." I don't believe private investors will pick up the tab.

Yes, it was 2015. However, the JZ press released that announced the surrender of its accreditation stated:

The Board of Directors of the Jackson Zoological Society voted unanimously to resign its membership in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), sending a resignation letter on Friday, August the 19th. Zoo staff, with the support of the Board, will work over the next two-three years to identify a funding structure that supports its recently completed facility master plan and strengthen its organizational and financial model. The Zoo anticipates that it will re-apply to be a member of the AZA once the integrated funding, organizational and financials models are in place.

I asked the zoo for a copy of the plan and what you see is what they sent me.

Wasn't published in the media at the time though, was it? You do have a right to see it.

1208 has a good point, probably by accident. Let's turn this over to David Watkins - see if he can move $96 million over from another scam to renovate the zoo. I'm sure there are some tax credits he can get involved somehow - housing, homeless, entertainment, something.

An African village?


???

I think $95 million would be better spent and easier to recoup by moving the Zoo to a new location say near the Children's Museum & the Wildlife Museum. Tourists traveling through on I-55 would stop.

That's insane - they need to increase the size and training of the police force - people will not travel to that part of town and if they do, they aren't safe. They should close the zoo, sadly. With respect to an African village, they just aren't that interesting. And they damn sure don't cost much to build. They could do something in another viable spot, like the natural history museum, to show what an African village looks like. By the way, Africa is a huge and heterogeneous continent. And the population is pretty urban in most places or just looks like the delta - Goodwill hand me downs, cell phones.

For that amount of money, you could send 47,500 kids to see a real African village and giraffes. And the restaurant will be a mess and no one will venture there at night.

Why a discovery zone for animal human interactions? They have a petting zoo and if you go on safari to Africa they don't let you interact with the wild animals because they are dangerous.

I went to the zoo this weekend. It is in pretty bad shape overall and needs a lot of work. Many exhibits were closed down.

It makes me wonder what the price difference would be to move the zoo versus renovating the existing campus if the land was free wherever it moved - such as by the Children's Museum.

Everybody contribute one dollar so JJ will never again mention the zoo.

I think I would rather have the streets paved.

too bad no one will venture to the zoo even after spending this money that could be better spent elsewhere. it's a 'charity hole'

Somebody doesn't understand restaurant economics. I am a veteran restaurant owner and a 150 seat restaurant is a multimillion dollar investment. To pull this off you either have to have huge volume or at least a two meal per day venue with wine and liquor. Even then it's a gamble. Just who would this restaurant attract? Somebody is dreaming.

close the zoo please.

let the animals die in peace.

bull doze the entire area.

continue bull dozing.

don't stop...never stop...

Custer had a plan, too.

This comes to mind http://www.theplaidzebra.com/human-zoos-one-europes-shameful-secrets-ended-50s/

Phase 5
- "Magnolias and Mockingbirds" exhibit
- Another restaurant
- "Mississippians in the Jungle" storyboard
- Estimated cost: $17.6 million

Phase 6
- World's longest roller coaster
- Kenneth I. Stokes Dodo Bird exhibit
- Snow cone stand
- Estimated cost: $24 million ($10 million to pay Stokes for his name)

Phase 7
- New brick sidewalks and benches
- Livingston Park Green including mixed income housing and a parking garage with robots
- B.B. King's Blues Club and Grill
- Estimated cost: $77.5 million

Phase 8
- "Majesty in the Mud" Pearl River Aquarium
- Catch and release fishing attraction sponsored by the Hinds County DA
- IMAX theater
- Estimated cost: $87.42 million

Phase 9
- Bigfoot exhibit (if they find him by then - the Jackson Zoo has first dibs)
- African-American Village portraying the evils of the African slave trade and how modern-day white people are responsible for everything bad (sponsored by the Jackson Free Press)
- Monorail to Metrocenter
- Estimated cost: $99.9 million

Phase 10
- After millions in losses, donate half to Jackson State and sell the remainder to a local mega-church
- Estimated sale price: $9 million

Can't understand people getting their panties in a wad over this. Ain't no way that anybody, thing, or group is coming up with anywhere near $95 million for this 'renovation' to the zoo. And for those in Madison County that want to see the zoo 'moved' to LeFluers Park, that ain't happening either. (BTW, if a renovation cost is estimated at $95 million, would need to put up half again that much, or more, to move the zoo. And no, that doesn't include land costs.)

There is a possibility that a few million might be put into the zoo - a new entrance off Woodrow Wilson, improved security, exhibit improvements - but that's all that can realistically be expected. And even that isn't going to occur unless and until there is some fiscal sanity returned to both the zoo and the city (please pardon the redundancy).

Now thats funny ..... But sadly true

Let's make sure the city floats a bond issue for this project before it files for Chapter 9. May as well max out the credit card before filing.

People who are complaining about security.

When was the last time you were in West Jackson? Serious question.

@ 3:25 - Last Saturday. Sketchy as ever especially at Capitol and Boling.

Why not put up a supersized water slide?

I hear one is for sale in KC.

Cheap.

Why is everything so negative and racist on JJ....??? I guarantee the cowards who make these remarks will not do so publicly'. It's so easy to sit at home and come up such childish, 1850's comments. I challenge each of you to say something and do something positive to make a change or difference...

2:04, you forget - it's not REAL money, it's taxpayer money, so the economics don't matter.

I wondered when some Jake leg would pull the race card. Do you not watch the news? I drive on that side of town at least 3 times a week. It's a total dump and after dark it's not safe. I would never let my wife go to west capitol street after dark. It's not racism. It's statistics.

Thank you, 'Tell Da Troof Danny Mollisack!'! I was eating muscadines, and when I got to the, 'Kenneth I. Stokes Dodo Bird Exhibit', I had a bit of an accident. But that's OK. Cleaning muscadine out of my keyboard is a small price to pay, for the best laugh I've had all year.

Oh, 9:04... same line, different day.

Is a zoo worth dropping $95MM on? Close it and re-purpose the funds to solve some of the many more pressing issues in Jackson.

Africa is the second largest continent and is not a homogeneous culture. That's like saying "a North American village". There's a big difference between villages in Canada, Colorado, Georgia, and Mexico.

So what kind of "African village" are we talking about? Which part of Africa? North Africa? Sub-Saharan? South Africa?

Will it be a patronizing, Disney-fied, uggabugga village straight from the annals of Hollywood movies, like this, where people wear loincloths and wash them by banging them between rocks?

Or will it be a real village, like this town in Kenya?

Or like this town in Libya?

And what does a human settlement have to do with the Zoo anyway? Because there are wild animals in Africa?

Jackson, listen very closely to these words. Be good at the basics. Get a grip on your infrastructure problems! Get a grip on your school system! Get a grip on your crime! Get a grip on your elected officials and appointed leaders! EVERYTHING else will then take care of itself.

I'll put up $96million for this project if we can go a week without having a murder within 5 miles of the zoo.

let me know when that happens...

9:04 "...cowards who make these remarks will not do so publicly'."

So says 'Anonymous'...

But, wait... isn't this a public place?

9:04, why don't you go ahead and show us the racism you managed to find, Tom Head.

Hank's thoughts,

After reading some zoo pages and talking to some zoo associations today. Here is my conclusion.

Spending 95M over time short or long cannot be supported by 250,000 or 300,000 visitors a year. The admission price, even with corporate support would be very high. Zoo's like Memphis, Riverbanks and others require one million guest per year with strong corporate $upport. Area income levels also some into play, regardless of admission price you guest income determines how much time is spent at the zoo, along with how many trips. Don't forget food prices and gift shop prices will also need to be higher. You need a lot of local folk with expendable income to support a decent zoo.

Look at Charlotte they don't have a zoo,they have the land, the income but since Riverbanks (top ten in USA)in Columbia in just 70 mile south, they don't have to spend resources on a zoo.

North Carolina did take a much different course something Mississippi should look into. They decide to find enough land and opened a state zoo. Big zoo with state and corporate support run by DNR. I took a few years for it to get its legs but it is a large and beautiful zoo.

The idea that Jackson has to have one of everything is pure folly.

Make a dog park out of the zoo. The zoo animals could be snacks like they have been many times in the past.

Such a ridiculous idea....and Jackson leaders can't even make payroll....what a joke

6:55 I like that idea. Just give the zoo to the State Department of Parks, Fish fries, and Wildlife. Let them run it. They keep all the profit, if any. The City pays nothing and gets paid nothing. But they don't have the expense of a zoo and still get the tourism. The question is would the state want it?