Aquarium could be coming to Jacksonville?

[GatorShane]

A combination of small and large scale projects would be ideal(duh)!! Sometimes I think people that have great ideas and presentations or developers who would love to see a project come to fruition see the incredible amount of cynicism and negativity coming from some people in this city and simply say I am not dealing with this shit and walk away!! I am sick and tired of watching other towns and cities take that bold step required and actually do something to reinvent and reenergize their downtowns while the people that run this city continually sit on the sidelines. If someone is going to invest in our DT then he needs to see that there are people that share the same vision. I am certainly not saying that we should just roll over and accept every project that comes down the pipeline but all of the naysaying gets a little old. I always defend Jville tooth and nail but it does seem like a lot of the criticism that comes from outside sources (Orlando,Tampa, Miami etc) is mostly justified. So frustrating as a native to just see us flounder around while other cities around us roll forward. I do see changes happening I guess my patience just gets tested at times!! lol #904forlife

[IrvAdams]

^^ Hang in there.

No shame. We tend on this forum to produce and ingest criticism, and it is a tough pill to swallow. This is a group of professionals who have seen better things, and understandably want these things for their hometown.

Look at it as goal-setting and coaching, not debilitating or insulting.

Jax is a great place to live or we wouldn't be here.

[FSBA]

The group has secured the funding for a feasibility study

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/02/19/planned-downtown-jacksonville-aquarium-secures.html

[I-10east]

I heard that Miami's Seaquarium is overshadowed down there (looking on the facebook comments). If so, that is very concerning for Jax, given that Miami is a top tourist destination. I'm still not sold about the feasibility of an aquarium in Jax. Many people on MJ are very knowledgeable and well traveled. I encourage people to not sugarcoat (attractions/transit etc) what is going on in other cities. There are a very few that do not sugarcoat attractions in other cities, props to them. 

[Noone]

I am totally blown away by the design of the building! No complaints here as it does scream iconic for sure. Only wishing somehow $100 million will rain down from the heavens, almost seems to be far fetched. But while they are at it, I would strongly suggest partnering with MOSH and add a new museum as part of the overall plan. Not only would this increase attendance for both respectively as they will feed off and into each other, it would also give Jax condensed educational/entertainment center. Combine this with an included children's museum that currently sits nearby and you have a win all across the board. My strong recommendation would be for Aquajax, JaxZoo, and MOSH to make one full collaborative effort on a single vision.

Part of their plan includes a water taxi that would take you from the museum, to the aquarium and then to the zoo. While I agree mosh is getting a little stale, I think an expansion at the current site would suffice. As it stands it could survive a few more years... Though the planetarium desperately needs to be updated.

Does anyone else feel sorry for the Baltimore guys that got kicked out of Jacksonville 2014-412? No river pass for you.

Stay positive.

[acme54321]

I am totally blown away by the design of the building! No complaints here as it does scream iconic for sure. Only wishing somehow $100 million will rain down from the heavens, almost seems to be far fetched. But while they are at it, I would strongly suggest partnering with MOSH and add a new museum as part of the overall plan. Not only would this increase attendance for both respectively as they will feed off and into each other, it would also give Jax condensed educational/entertainment center. Combine this with an included children's museum that currently sits nearby and you have a win all across the board. My strong recommendation would be for Aquajax, JaxZoo, and MOSH to make one full collaborative effort on a single vision.

Part of their plan includes a water taxi that would take you from the museum, to the aquarium and then to the zoo. While I agree mosh is getting a little stale, I think an expansion at the current site would suffice. As it stands it could survive a few more years... Though the planetarium desperately needs to be updated.

Does anyone else feel sorry for the Baltimore guys that got kicked out of Jacksonville 2014-412? No river pass for you.

Stay positive.

I guess not since no one had responded to the multiple iterations of the same question you've been spamming all over the forums.

[copperfiend]

Does anyone else feel sorry for the Baltimore guys that got kicked out of Jacksonville 2014-412? No river pass for you.

Stay positive.

I guess not since no one had responded to the multiple iterations of the same question you've been spamming all over the forums.

Was thinking the same thing.

[johnnyliar]

seriously. Noone asks that question on every thread...

[FSBA]

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-02-28/story/group-raises-enough-money-hire-firm-determine-whether-aquarium-can#gsc.tab=0

George Harrell, who's been working on the project for several years, said the $53,000 needed for the study came from Jaguars owner Shad Khan; former Jaguars owners Wayne and Delores Weaver; Gary Chartrand, executive chairman of Acosta, and his wife, Nancy; Wolfson Children's Hospital; and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

[KenFSU]

^ Also worth noting from that article is that, if an aquarium is built, it would likely take over a portion of Metropolitan Park.

[FSBA]

It looks like comments were deleted but someone using Aqua Jax's official Facebook account made several posts about opening in 2018. See where this goes.

[menace1069]

I know of literally no one who has said, "You know what Jacksonville needs? An aquarium!"  We have real, live awesome bodies of water between the river, intercoastal, and ocean. I'd much rather get outdoors than go visit an aquarium, personally.  I dont know, something about this whole idea just seems like a waste of time and money to me.

I think an aquarium would be great for Jax.

You are right...we do have some great bodies of water around us and maybe you would rather go outdoors than to visit an aquarium...and that is your opinion. But there are many other people who do like to visit aquariums for several reasons, one being education and introducing children to see various marine life up close. That plants the seed for their future interests...maybe after visiting an aquarium they want to study marine life as a career.So it would be a great place for parents to take their kids, for school field trips and for aspiring marine biologists.

Another thing it would add is a destination/excuse for people to come to Jacksonville and start spending their discretionary income in our city. We have to start creating reasons for people to stop in Jacksonville rather than just pass through it on 95. There are many things that we can do...we just have to start doing them. We can't continue to depend on Mr. Khan and the Jags to be the only draw to Jacksonville.  more and more businesses are relocating to Jax and that means that people are relocating here with their families and they are going to want to do something other than drive to the beach or drive down to Disney.

Would it really be so bad to have an aquarium in Jacksonville?

[finehoe]

...something about this whole idea just seems like a waste of time and money to me.

Agreed.  There are plenty of them already (especially in Florida):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aquaria_in_the_United_States

Nobody is going to come to Jacksonville just to visit an aquarium.  Might they visit if they're already here?  Perhaps, but I think there are better ways to enliven downtown.

[jaxjaguar]

I completely disagree with the naysayers. If they build something worth visiting and that has a unique attraction people will come.

It would be excellent to tie MOSH, the zoo and the aquarium together. I believe it would be a great way to showcase the river both via ferry's between locations and through tanks housing local wildlife. The biggest issue with Jacksonville's waterways is all of the silt in the water. The closest spings with clear water are nearly 2 hours away.

This could be an opportunity to teach people about what they can't see in the murky waters around them. It could spur a movement to help further protect what we have.

If AquaJax could get someone like Guy Harvey to endorse their project I could see droves of people coming to visit. Especially since they want to be the first aquarium in the would to house sail finned fish.

[PeeJayEss]

I completely disagree with the naysayers. If they build something worth visiting and that has a unique attraction people will come.

An aquarium is not a unique attraction. There are more than 100 in the US, and more than a dozen in Florida. Where will people come from? Certainly not from or beyond Tampa, Orlando, or Atlanta, which all have big aquariums. So, the population you are looking at is almost literally just the Jacksonville metro area. No one, literally no one, will come to Jax specifically for an aquarium. They might go to the aquarium if they are already in town, but even that is probably a stretch. What do people come to Jax for? Golfing, the beach, or business. Not much in the way of urban exploring or sightseeing.

Plus, we've already got one prison on Bay Street. Why do we need another (hey-o treehugger!!)?