In late 2013, Zoo Atlanta was approached by the City of Atlanta with an interesting proposition. Due to flagging attendance, the City was shutting down the Atlanta Cyclorama, which sits adjacent to the zoo’s entrance, and moving its exhibits elsewhere. They offered the zoo the historic building, but what could a zoo do with an over 90-year old Civil War museum? The zoo responded with a counter-offer: give Zoo Atlanta three acres of land adjacent to the Cyclorama building for conversion into new African elephant habitat. The land could be used to massively increase space for elephants and for the construction of Zambezi Elephant Center, a state-of-the art care complex for the species. The new savanna could be visible from Savanna Hall, the renovated historic Cyclorama building, which would include an equally state-of-the art events facility and the zoo’s administrative offices. The projects would allow Zoo Atlanta to “stay in the game” by upgrading its African elephant habitat to exceed AZA’s superior standards for animal well-being while at the same time giving the zoo a premiere revenue-producing events facility with a unique selling point: dramatic views of elephants, giraffes and more in an immersive naturalistic habitat. In keeping with Zoo Atlanta’s conservation mission, sustainability was a central component of both Savanna Hall and Zambezi Elephant Center. The zoo exceeded the requirements for projects built on a City leasehold by achieving LEED Gold certification of both buildings.