Belle Isle zoo torn down for trails and habitat
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A sign describing changes at the Belle Isle zoo site. Photos: Joe Guillen/Axios
Belle Isle's historic former zoo is being torn down to make way for more trails and parking on the island park.
Why it matters: The zoo's demolition is among several recent Belle Isle improvement projects made possible with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money.
Zoom in: Workers are removing invasive plants and old zoo structures at the site alongside state ecologists to protect mature trees and sensitive wildlife, Tom Bissett, an assistant chief with MDNR's parks and recreation division, told Axios in an email.
Follow the money: The zoo is being torn down with $1.6 million out of $23 million in ARPA-funded upgrades and repairs across Belle Isle.
- Other ARPA-funded projects include the revitalization of the James Scott Memorial Fountain and a new HVAC system for the Belle Isle Aquarium.
Flashback: The zoo opened in 1895 and became a children's zoo in 1928 when the Detroit Zoo opened in Royal Oak, the Detroit News reported.
- It was renamed Safariland in the late 1980s.
- Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick closed it in 2002 for money reasons.
- Much of the infrastructure has since deteriorated and become hazardous, per MDNR.
State of play: Most of the site will be restored to a natural habitat with publicly accessible trails and new canal access.
- The demolition will also make way for better traffic flow and new parking in a central area of the 985-acre park.
- The work began this month and will finish by year's end.
What they're saying: "People have powerful emotional ties to the site, of course," Meagan Elliott, CEO of the Belle Isle Conservancy, told the Free Press.
What's next: The conservancy has been working with the MDNR to "document the space in its current state," Elliott said.