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St. Louis Zoo plans to buy former hospital site

The St. Louis Zoo Association plans to purchase the site of the former Forest Park Hospital, which sits across Interstate 64 from the zoo.

The agreement signed March 8 was announced Monday. Terms were not disclosed. The association would purchase the 13.5-acre site from Medline Industries Inc. of Mundelein, Ill., the nation's largest privately-held maker and distributor of health care supplies.

The purchase would be funded by the nonprofit zoo association with no taxpayer funds used.

Zoo officials say the hospital site is the only contiguous land available to the zoo. Officials say the land could provide parking, educational space and other opportunities.

The deal is expected to be completed after due diligence audits, which could take four months.

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