BATON ROUGE - Phase one of a $30 million upgrade at BREC Zoo is well underway.

"We're taking an old giraffe exhibit and expanding it, doubling the size of it," said Jim Fleshman, Deputy Director of the BREC Zoo.

One of many projects, the giraffe exhibit, could be finished by winter 2021 if construction goes as planned.

"We had an estimated completion date, but it keeps getting pushed back because of the rain," Fleshman said.

The new sanctuary will include hydronic flooring that heats and cools and a feeding station where guests can get up close and personal with the animals.

"Part of our mission is to connect people with nature in wild places, and that's what this is about," said Fleshman.

Other updates to the zoo will include a new entrance and an underwater hippo expo.