Tim Adkins

tadkins@mtcngroup.com

The owners of a West Tennessee wildlife safari park are looking to open a second location in the Nashville area on property in Cheatham County that once was home to the Nashville Zoo.

The 135-acre property is on Ridge Circle in Joelton off Interstate 24.

Jon Conley, the owner of the Tennessee Safari Park in Alamo in Crockett County, said the business has the property under contract.

“Our attorneys and I are working on the due diligence of closing the property, so commenting further would be premature,” he said.

Conley declined to say when the property might close.

However, Conley said the business is looking forward to the possibility of opening a second location, which would be called the Nashville Safari Park.

“We are excited about bringing this to the greater Nashville area, but it is too early to share our plans and ideas for the property,” he said.

Conley said he has been looking at the Cheatham County site for several years and saw its potential.

The property is owned by Farzin Ferdowsi and Aminmadani Homayoun of Brentwood, according to Cheatham County property records.

The Tennessee Safari Park opened in Alamo in 2007.

“We have done amazingly well since we opened, and we continue to grow each year. In fact, we have doubled our attendance each year we have been opened,” he said.

Conley and his brother, Claude, the park’s manager, oversee the park.

According to the company’s website, the park in Alamo is located on a Century Farm owned by the Conley family since 1858. Conley said the park is home to about 175 species and 1,000 animals from around the world.

Visitors can drive a six-mile path as well as walk through an area featuring other animals and a petting zoo.

In a statement, Misty Keenan, director of the Cheatham County Chamber of Commerce, said, “This is an exciting opportunity for Cheatham County and Middle Tennessee tourism as a whole.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Mr. Conley since February to make this a reality for our county. I am excited to even have the chance for us to land such an awesome attraction and hope to see this through to the finish.”

The Nashville Zoo originally opened in Cheatham County in the early 1990s and moved to its current location on Nolensville Pike in South Nashville in 1998. It was renamed the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere.