Jacksonville Zoo to open new manatee care habitat and redesigned front entrance on March 6

A new arrival experience tied directly to wildlife rescue

Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens is scheduled to open a new main entrance and a significantly expanded manatee habitat on March 6, 2026, marking a major milestone in the zoo’s long-running campus transformation program. The debut pairs guest-facing changes—ticketing, gathering space and upgraded amenities—with an expanded facility intended to strengthen the region’s manatee rescue and rehabilitation capacity.

What is opening: VyStar SkyScape and Manatee River

The new entry complex, branded VyStar SkyScape, is designed as a covered, open-air structure that consolidates admissions and guest services while adding event and visitor amenities. Plans include a stage, a lounge space and areas for retail and food service, along with large-format digital display elements. The entrance is intended to serve as both an arrival point and a new hub for on-site programming.

Adjacent to the entrance, the J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver Manatee River habitat is built around a critical-care model rather than a traditional exhibit-only design. The project’s layout includes multiple pools intended to support both public viewing and behind-the-scenes veterinary care, allowing rescued manatees to be separated as needed for treatment, recovery and monitoring.

Capacity and care: how the facility is expected to change operations

Zoo officials have described the expanded habitat as a large-scale critical care environment for manatees impacted by common threats including boat strikes, cold stress and health complications linked to changing environmental conditions. The project is expected to increase the zoo’s ability to hold and treat substantially more animals at one time than the existing manatee care center, which has typically been limited to a small number of manatees based on each animal’s condition and space requirements.

• Habitat design includes multiple interconnected pools, with additional back-of-house pools for separation and medical needs.
• Support infrastructure includes water treatment and life-support systems designed for rehabilitation operations.
• Public viewing is expected to expand, addressing prior limitations where guests could have only periodic views—and at times no manatees on site due to the temporary nature of rehabilitation housing.

Project scope, funding and what comes next

The entrance-and-manatee complex is part of a broader, multi-phase redevelopment program that has been described as a long-term plan to modernize major portions of the zoo campus. The manatee and entrance components have been associated with a multi-tens-of-millions-dollar budget and have also been linked to prominent philanthropic naming gifts. Additional phases outlined in the broader program have included concepts such as expanded education facilities and redesigned habitats for other species.

The March 6 opening is planned as a full-day public debut for both the new entrance and the manatee habitat.

Zoo leaders have framed the project as a combined visitor upgrade and conservation investment: a front-door redesign intended to improve flow and amenities, paired with a critical-care environment meant to strengthen the region’s capacity to rescue, rehabilitate and ultimately return manatees to Florida waters.