Higher construction bids pushed up the Seneca Park Zoo budget, but Monroe County Executive says the project is now locked in

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Monroe County has finally started a major expansion at the Seneca Park Zoo, breaking ground on a project that will add a tropics building with indoor and outdoor habitats, a 60,000-gallon aquatic habitat, a shark petting area, new event spaces and a gift shop. The expansion will allow the Zoo to bring back orangutans and add dozens of new species, including a Komodo dragon, a giant octopus, sharks and jellyfish. The total cost for the expansion is now $135 million, with $67.6 million coming from Monroe County taxpayers and $44.4 million from New York state taxpayers. The Seneca Park Zoo Society is responsible for raising the remaining $23 million. So far, the society has raised a little less than $8 million. When asked what would happen if they can’t come up with the rest of the money, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello told News10NBC Investigative Reporter Jennifer Lewke, Monroe County is authorized to bond for the full amount of the project so, it ll get cove