The new aquarium in Syracuse’s Inner Harbor is taking shape. Before crews finish portions of the building, they must transport the aquatic life to its assigned places. When County Executive Ryan McMahon cast a net for support from lawmakers to build a multi-million-dollar aquarium in Syracuse, not everyone was on board. Now, the race to the finish is proving just as long and arduous.
“We’re weeks away, not months away," Ryan said. "If this tank wasn’t delayed we would have been open in the summer.”
Juliane Davis is the aquarium exhibits’ curator. She is overseeing the arrival of 13-thousand individual fish – including sharks.
“These guys, the nurse sharks are the big two in the back and then we also have sandbars in here, as well," Davis said. "They will be eventually moved to our large predator reef exhibit that’s currently under construction right now.”
County Executive McMahon said Syracuse’s Inner Harbor is likely to spur other development on the nearby vacant parcels of land. For instance, the county is currently speaking with a minor league soccer team.
“Certainly the inner harbor would be a potential stadium site, if we can land that deal. In addition to that there’s more hotels that are going to be coming to the harbor, McMahon said. "But, definitely within the next 12 months, you’re going to see plans move from being in the planning stages to actual project stages.”
In the meantime, construction crews are putting the finishing touches on the aquarium rock formations. Once those are complete and the main tank is ready, more than 300 species of aquatic life will make a splash over to their permanent tanks.
