What happened to the Detroit Zoo's downtown aquarium plan?

**gratiotfaced** · May-12-23, 06:58 AM

Five years on, and there's been no news at all about this possibility. It was a huge story at the time..

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...own/571372002/

There was a follow up a couple of weeks later, but it was just that Duggan thought a site on the east riverfront would make more sense over the Ford Auditorium site.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...ggan/34881141/

I'm really curious to know what happened here. The original article mentions that this plan was in the works for two decades, and the moment was right to finally move forward. They seemed to have a fairly concrete outline for the total cost, size, and annual visitor count, so it's not like the plan was hatched the day before. The only unknown was a possible location. Gilbert, Duggan, and anyone else with influence was vocally supportive of the idea.

Even if we factor in the pandemic causing chaos and delays, there was still a two year gap beforehand with no updates at all [[as far as I'm aware).

Does anyone know if the project is dead? Do we think it's just super delayed or on hold? Any hope this ever goes through?

**401don** · May-12-23, 08:26 AM

People from Windsor could take the gondola over to it.

**Danny** · May-13-23, 01:45 PM

Why need a Downtown [[ Gilbert Town) Detroit Aquarium when we have the Belle Isle Aquarium?

**Gistok** · May-14-23, 03:51 AM

This is sort of a pie in the sky idea... but since some here think that the Amphitheater should be removed from Chene Park, then that location could make for an interesting "Ralph C. Wilson" Great Lakes Aquarium.

The Wilson foundation has to spend something like $50 million each year in Detroit and in Buffalo. An aquarium would make for an excellent "educational" grant if the city could market it to the foundation. I would love to see a unique design for the aquarium keeping the hillside of the amphitheater, and having the aquarium face towards the river.

**stasu1213** · May-14-23, 07:02 AM

Originally Posted by Danny

Why need a Downtown [[ Gilbert Town) Detroit Aquarium when we have the Belle Isle Aquarium?

That's true but Detroit could have a modern one modeled after the one in Atlanta

**K-slice** · May-15-23, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Danny

Why need a Downtown [[ Gilbert Town) Detroit Aquarium when we have the Belle Isle Aquarium?

The Belle Isla Aquarium, while very cool and historic, is something you visit for 15 minutes if you're already on the island.

As proposed the new aquarium would be an all-day [[or at least half a day) attraction that would bring people in on it's own.

Hopefully someone, somewhere is still working on this project. We need a few large family oriented attractions downtown.

**ShadowSoarer** · May-15-23, 12:41 PM

The notion of families leaving the building and having to cross Jefferson never made sense to me since there is literally a parking garage next door or they could’ve incorporated parking into the site as well. The other option would be to build a pedestrian bridge over Jefferson which is what they have now for the Detroit GP.

The Belle Isle Aquarium is great and historic, but it would be nice to have a new aquarium Downtown. Not sure if these numbers are correct but Belle Isle Aquarium had 174k visitors in 2019. The Georgia Aquarium in Downtown Atlanta for example had 2.5 million visitors in 2018.

Don’t think it would happen anytime soon at this point considering the whole statement about crossing Jefferson and the disagreements between a new aquarium and the belle isle aquarium.

**Gistok** · May-15-23, 04:14 PM

^ Most of the city's cultural attractions are in Midtown, so I wouldn't mind seeing a site near the Science Center as an Aquarium... or as I mentioned my preferred site would be near the east riverfront near Milliken State Park or Chene Park. But not downtown. When there are events at the Stadia/Arena ... downtown becomes a driving/parking nightmare.

Baltimore's National Aquarium is located in a nice spot along the waterfront [in the inner harbor], and a waterfront site in Detroit would be nice.

**gratiotfaced** · May-15-23, 08:37 PM

The article mentioned that the Zoo specifically wanted a waterfront site for the aquarium, so Midtown is probably out. I think the city objects to using the Ford Auditorium site because they want Hart Plaza redesigned in some way, but I'm not positive on that.

The Uniroyal site could work, but proximity to the Belle Isle Aquarium could be contentious. There's a few lots along Atwater in Rivertown that could work. Maybe the GM Lot south of Atwater, too.

West of downtown is much trickier. There's the parking lot across from the JLA site, the lot between Riverfront Towers and Ralph Wilson Park, and.. that's it. Any further west and you're too far to be considered in downtown.

**southen** · May-16-23, 10:41 AM

My hope is that once Ralph C. Wilson Park is completed that perhaps the Post Office could be persuaded to move elsewhere and have all of that land to open up residential and perhaps an anchor like an aquarium. It may not be downtown but there would be an incredible park and a connector to Michigan Central that means a family could really make a day of being down there.