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Indianapolis Zoo could gain expansion space in parking deal

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indianapolis Zoo could gain room for a potential expansion by using parking lots at an outdoor concert amphitheater planned at the nearby site of a former General Motors stamping plant.

The deal with REI Investments would open up the amphitheater’s parking for zoo visitors on busy days. The zoo on the western edge of downtown Indianapolis is now landlocked along White River, with parking taking up 13 of its 64 acres.

Zoo spokeswoman Judy Palermo tells the Indianapolis Business Journal that the zoo has no specific expansion plans.

REI president Mike Wells says it plans to buy about half of the 102-acre former factory site. Plans are to build a $30 million, 10,000-seat amphitheater in partnership with White River State Park, but state funding is still being sought.