San Antonio Zoo Coral Lab

The San Antonio Zoo Coral Lab is a completed new construction project located at 3903 North Saint Mary's Street in San Antonio. The facility spans 937 square feet and sits between the existing Friedrich Aquarium, Monkey House, and Flamingo exhibit areas. The project passed its final TDLR accessibility inspection in August 2026, confirming that the construction phase is complete.

Registered with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation in August 2025, the filing identified the owner of record as the San Antonio Zoo. The design firm of record was Sunland Group, and Kathy Ann Riley served as the registered accessibility specialist. The estimated cost for the project was $750,000, which equates to $800 per square foot.

Scope and Context

The scope of work involved the construction of a new laboratory building featuring CMU walls. The filing noted that the project involved public funds, public land, or was a Federally funded roadway project. Construction began in September 2025, following plan review completion in August 2025. The scheduled build window was 350 days, which is longer than the Bexar County median of 207 days for new construction filings.

In terms of cost, the $750,000 estimate is above the Bexar County median of $600,000 for similar new construction projects. The cost per square foot of $800 is also above the county median of $115. These figures are derived from 8,336 TDLR-registered new construction filings in Bexar County.

The San Antonio Zoo has four other TDLR-registered projects totaling $12,216,000, including the SA Zoo Donkey Barn and the 4D Theater. Sunland Group, the design firm, has six other registered projects totaling $15,665,000, such as the Abia Terminal Building in Austin. The site is situated in a neighborhood with a population of about 26,670 and a median household income of $60,222, according to U.S. Census estimates for ZIP code 78212.