PROJECT TEAM
Cost: $50 million
Owner: City and County of Denver
Owner’s Rep: Denver Zoological Foundation
Designer: CLR Design Inc.
General contractor: Kiewit Building Group
Mechanical/electrical engineering consultant: The RMH Group Inc.
Plumbing contractor: Heating & Plumbing Engineers Inc.
Electrical contractor: West Electrical Inc.
Earthwork: Gilbert Contracting Inc.
Rockwork: Edge Concrete LLC
Groundbreaking: Dec. 2, 2009
Opening: June 1, 2012
PROJECT TIMELINE
Late 2008: Plans finalized and sitework under way.
Dec. 2, 2009: Groundbreaking.
Spring 2010: Excavation for several building foundations under way as well as pool construction and rockwork.
Summer 2010: Walls for multiple buildings, including the pavilion and rhino/tapir habitat, start going up, and rockwork and underground utility installation continue.
Fall 2010: More structure walls, including those of the 20,000-sq-ft elephant house, are under construction. Waterproofing tests are going on at pools, and concrete is being poured for the animal-transfer bridge footings.
Feb. 2011: Work is nearly half complete. Six buildings are taking shape, four animal pools have been installed and the bridge is in place.
Summer 2011: All 10 major buildings on the 10-acre site are under construction or nearly finished. Installation of TPO roofing on the elephant house as well as work on the roof and windows of the waste management building continue.
Fall 2011: Structures such as the rhino/tapir building are completed, and landscaping is nearly finished.
Winter 2011: Final construction of buildings is under way as well as landscaping around the elephant house, finishing touches on the rockwork, painting and theming.
June 1, 2012: Opening