Cost increases could double the price tag for a remarkable new aquarium and lagoon science center the East Coast Zoological Society plans to build on a 14-acre parcel across from Port Canaveral.
To date, 4,110 individuals and organizations in Indian River County have pledged nearly $6 million toward an original estimated cost in 2019 of $85 million for the planned 12-building complex on the shore of the Banana River.
Marine Bank president Bill Penney, who has played a leading role in fund raising locally, has described the aquarium as “a transformative regional project.”
“When you hear the details of their plan, all you can say is ‘Wow.’ It is just amazing,” said Penney.
But Keith Winsten, executive director of Brevard Zoo and the East Coast Zoological Society which will build and run the aquarium, said “revised estimates we received a year ago pushed the cost to $130 million, and we just got a new revision that has gone up even more. It could end up costing twice our initial estimate.”
Groundbreaking for the project, scheduled for last fall, has been postponed while the Zzoo digests the new cost numbers. Winsten said he will announce a new groundbreaking date this summer.
Despite the stiff financial headwinds, Winsten and Penney remain confident the aquarium will be built.
“As far as I know, it is the only aquarium in the country that will spring up in the midst of the ecosystem it aims to rescue,” said Winsten.
“Most aquariums are big concrete boxes that have to deal with winter, but ours will be much more immersive, putting people into the ecosystems instead of having them looking at animals through acrylic barriers,” said Winsten.
Besides a series of habitat adventures and marine animal exhibits, the aquarium complex will include state of art sea turtle and manatee hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, and laboratories for in-house and visiting scientists and researchers.
A dollar from each admission will go to the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, generating more than $500,000 annually to help fund additional research and restoration along the endangered waterway, according to estimates.
“Our biggest impact in Indian River County probably is our sea turtle rehab program,” Winsten said. “We built a sea turtle healing center at the zoo in 2014 where we have cared for at least 120 sick or injured turtles from Indian River County.
“Our beaches are one of the most important turtle nesting areas in the world, so it was a natural for us. We will have a second sea turtle healing center at the aquarium with a world-class veterinary staff” and sophisticated equipment such as a just-acquired MRI machine to see inside what Winsten calls “the black box” of the heavily armored marine mammals.
“In April, we opened an acute care center for manatees at the zoo at the state’s request to begin building our veterinary team’s expertise with manatees before we open a critical care center at the aquarium.”
The zoo is not alone facing sticker shock for a major project in development. Supply chain kinks, price gouging and $4.6 trillion in federal stimulus spending during the pandemic produced a period of supply shortages and inflation that pushed construction and development costs up across the board.
“We have made a lot of progress and raised a tremendous amount of money,” Winsten said. “The design is 90 percent complete, down to where every door and electric outlet will go.
“This community, the whole length of the Indian River Lagoon, they really want this. We know there are still many people out there who have communicated their interest in supporting the project who we haven’t had an opportunity to talk with, and we continue to meet people who haven’t heard about the aquarium yet who are excited by the idea when it is presented to them, so we feel the capacity is there.
“We just have to scale up our effort and talk to everybody who wants to help. That is how you get people to invest in a project like this. You need to meet each other face to face and they need to know the details of what is going on.
“We are ramping up now to expand our fundraising and when we have a solid number we will tell everyone what that target is – and we will get there.”
Penney said the appeal of the project for Indian River County residents is twofold: It will be a world-class attraction where they can take their children, grandchildren and visiting friends, and it will be a major benefit to the ailing Indian River Lagoon, the county’s defining feature.
“We are blessed to live in a place where people incredibly generous,” Penney said. “Time and again, it has been shown that people here will support a good project. You just have to ignite their passion. Any community that touches the water has a stake in this.”
The power of passion is shown by the example of philanthropists John and Pat Bowen, who have given nearly $30 million to help make the aquarium a reality. The Zoological Society named the aquarium after them in December.
“We love nature in every sense of the word, and we love the zoo,” said John Bowen. “When we found out about the aquarium, we thought how wonderful, this is just what we have been looking for. This is very special to us.”
“The Bowens are the most amazing, down-to-earth people,” said Winsten. “They’re humble and quiet, but then you discover what they’ve done in the world, and it’s just incredible.
“They are the founding donors who put this project into motion. By naming the aquarium after them, we are able to truly celebrate their generosity, their legacy and who they are, which we feel represents the best of mankind.”
“The Bowen Aquarium is one of the only projects proposed for the Indian River Lagoon that will be truly transformational,” according to Duane De Freese, PhD, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon Council and Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program.
“Building species recovery and habitat restoration capacity is an essential precursor to implement the full-scale restoration work needed to recover this estuary of national significance.”
“We are confident we will raise the money,” Winsten said. “It is a lot of work, but we will get there.”
Photos provided
