FAIRHOPE, Pa. -- Ground was broken yesterday and construction will begin Tuesday on a 10,000-square-foot building that will house three African elephants that are moving in the spring to the International Conservation Center from the Philadelphia Zoo.

The 724-acre center in Somerset County is being developed, built and operated by the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.

The first building, which can house four elephants, will be the cornerstone of "elephant breeding and other conservation management programs," said Dr. Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Future construction plans include a one-acre indoor facility that will house up to 20 elephants and a large indoor arena for exercise in winter months. The property, operated for many years as a hunting ranch, has many wooded acres as well as 20 paddocks ranging in size from five to 20 acres. The entire property is surrounded by a 10-foot-high electric fence.

The 42-acre Philadelphia Zoo, landlocked in the city with no room to expand, has been looking for a better environment for its elephants, said Vikram H. Dewan, president and CEO. "We have had elephants at our zoo for 148 years. Not only will our current elephants have a great home, but we'll be part of an important conservation project."

Philadelphia officials looked long and hard for just the right home for three female African elephants -- Petal, 53 years old, and Kallie and Bette, both 24.

Their keepers wanted the three elephants to be able to continue living together.

Petal is thought to be the oldest female African elephant in the United States.

Though Kallie and Bette have never been bred, they are in their prime breeding years. After they settle into their new home and become accustomed to their new keepers, they probably will be introduced to Jackson, the Pittsburgh Zoo's male elephant, who has already fathered six offspring, including Victoria, 7, and Callie, 6, who live at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Two more baby elephants are due to be born at the zoo this spring.

The International Conservation Center will be the first and only such facility run by a zoo accredited by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

While the initial focus will be on elephant breeding and management programs, future projects could include programs for such other endangered species as cheetahs, black rhinoceros, African wild dogs and Grevy's zebras.

One reason the Pittsburgh Zoo is expanding is that the number of African elephants is dwindling -- both in the wild and at North American zoos.

There were an estimated 1.3 million African elephants in the wild in 1980. The number dropped to 600,000 in 1989, Dr. Baker said in previous interviews. There are about 174 African elephants in U.S. facilities.