LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — Lion Country Safari has space to build a hotel with 147 rooms with a 6,000 square foot restaurant to fit 175 people, according to site plan records filed with Palm Beach County.
The development order amendment, previously approved in 2012, splits the 566-acre property into six different pods for various purposes. Those purposes include the aforementioned hotel as well as 170 acres for future development, which today is the current site of the KOA campground that will close in April.
WATCH: Safari park says it's removing some attractions as part of its "evolution"
The campground's closure was announced after Oracle chief technology officer and co-founder Larry Ellison purchased the entire property in November. Ellison, who is one of the richest people in the world, also owns various luxury resorts on the sixth largest island of Hawaii called Lanai, where he owns the management company dedicated to preserving the island.
I found the site plan after digging through building permits Lion Country Safari filed with the county after the ownership change in November. The summary for those building permits shows various revisions and modifications being added to a site plan, like adding a 400-square-foot bird feeding exhibit, deleting a birthday party room, or reducing the size of various elements at the park. Those permits refer to parts of the project as pods, like Pod D1.
"Revise Site Plan and Tabular Data to add 2 modular structures, each 528 sq. ft. in size," one undated summary said. "Update Tabular Data to reflect the deletion of the Birthday Party Rooms (Pod D1) in building 28 and to replace with the 28A & 28B modular structures. Review attached justification."
I then found Pod D1, according to the site plan, referred to the around 52-acre space used for the existing walk-through village and outdoor entertainment south of the 257-acre parcel used as Lion Country Safari Drive-Through Adventure Park and Zoo (Pod A). The plan also has space for two communication towers. But the hotel is the only named element I found that hasn't been built on the property, as the park currently asks people to find a hotel around the property on its website.
WPTV started looking into construction at the park after a viewer, who said she was an annual pass holder, sent us photos showing construction at the park has stopped since new ownership took over.
Ellison's newly publicized involvement in the Palm Beach County attraction has led people nearby to believe he's connected to a potential data center called "Project Tango," which is about five minutes away from the park. Sue Loyzelle, who created a nonprofit called the Western Palm Beach Community Alliance to stop the data center, said she believes the photos of stalled construction are proof the new owners are trying to do something different.
"They're stopping, because they're going to do something different," Loyzelle said. "They're not being transparent of what they're doing and that's the problem. There's no transparency in this project. Nobody knows what it is."
A spokesperson for Lion Country Safari said construction is ongoing but didn't have any additional update.
WPTV did circle back with direct questions about plans to add a hotel to the property's northwest corner called Pod F. We're still waiting for a response as of publication.
Read more of WPTV's coverage below:
Loxahatchee Acreage
Lion Country Safari removing some attractions as part of its 'evolution'
Loxahatchee Acreage
'People are getting skeptical': KOA campgrounds to close, sparking concerns
Loxahatchee Acreage
