Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg upgrades animal care center

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The birds at Sunken Gardens are getting a new home, but don’t worry, they’re not going far. 

Right now, the birds sleep in the original 1940 entrance and gift shop that was recently renovated into the History Center.

"It’s okay for the animals now, but for long-term, that’s not ideal," Dwayne Biggs, the supervisor of Sunken Gardens, said.

READ: Sunken Gardens brings tropical oasis to busy St. Petersburg

In March, they’ll move into a state-of-the-art medical care center for the Gardens’ animals that’s under construction near the south lot. Construction started earlier this month.

"We give first-class care to all of our animals here at Sunken Gardens, and, the American Zoological Association, the USDA, have certain standards and guidelines for animal care. We meet those standards and guidelines. But, you know, some of the facilities we have here are historical. And there were again, there were makeshift areas," Biggs said. 

"So, this building is being constructed and designed to meet the animal care needs. So, it will be up-to-date. It's going to be a wonderful facility and our staff is very excited about it," he said.

The idea for the 60-foot-long building has been in the works for four years.

READ: Tampa Riverwalk nominated for best holiday lights display by USA Today

"Some folks think we're like 40 or 50 acres, but really, we're a little over four acres. So, we have to kind of design things that fit within the footprint and actually don't, you know, change the look of the gardens here," Biggs said.

"We wanted to make sure this building aesthetically met and had an appearance that matches some of the other structures here at Sunken Gardens. So, it will have a terracotta roof and the facade of this building will match similar to what the History Center is," he said.

According to Biggs, the new medical center will add more space for specialized medical care, climate-controlled rooms, and a quarantine area. He said the center is hurricane-proof and will be concrete, which will be easier to clean. 

"We have some animals that are geriatric, that have been here for 50, 60 years, and so, we want to make sure we're providing them with first-class care," Biggs said.

The new building will also allow them to add new species to their collection, he said.

"We're looking at just a handful of new species. I'm not going to go into details about that now, but we do have some exciting new acquisitions that we're looking for [in] the future," Biggs said.

"I'm very excited about this. I come from the zoological world and this has been very important to me to kind of add to the gardens. And so, the four years of design and working on this has been great, and everyone is excited that this project is finally going to be completed here in March," Biggs said. 

The City of St. Petersburg and the Sunken Gardens Forever Foundation are helping pay the center’s $700,000 price tag.