September 30, 2024
Provided Image/City Of Atlantic City Communications
The Atlantic City Aquarium is set to reopen in December after undergoing interior and exterior repairs and renovations, Mayor Marty Small announced Monday.
Atlantic City Aquarium may welcome visitors again by the end of the year following a four-year closure and several delays to its reopening.
The popular attraction, located in the Gardner's Basin bayside park, closed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns and necessary repairs. It's expected to fully reopen "sometime in December," Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said during a news conference Monday.
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The aquarium's Facebook page said it was scheduled to "tentatively" reopen in the fall of 2023. Then, officials stated it would open by July or September of this year. But supply chain and funding issues delayed the exterior and interior work on the aquarium. Plus, there were unexpected problems, including mold found on the premises, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
"We could have opened the aquarium (sooner)," Small said. "But again, the standards of this administration was to open it when it was fully complete. ... We're working to make it the best aquarium that it could be."
Replacements of the roof, windows and HVAC, and renovations to the aquarium interior, have been completed. Work is "nearing completion" on the siding, trim, decks, railings, front entry doors and a new entry-area mural, according to a release. Small also said there will be "exciting new exhibits" upon the aquarium's reopening.
✨🎉🐠GARDNER'S BASIN IMPROVEMENTS 🐠🎉✨
— City of Atlantic City (@AtlanticCityGov) September 30, 2024
Today, Mayor Small held a news conference at Historic Gardner's Basin to highlight major improvements made, new projects coming, and to update the status of the Atlantic City Aquarium 🐟🐟
READ ⤵ https://t.co/FLKjQerpU5 pic.twitter.com/8OsLJuo6Av
Exterior upgrades were not originally part of the refurbishment plans, but the city secured the necessary funds for it in January from the American Rescue Plan, the Press of Atlantic City reported. The city did not say how much exterior work would cost. Before the 2020 pandemic shutdowns, Atlantic City had received a $1.16 million grant from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority for interior upgrades.
"The Atlantic City Aquarium is looking more beautiful than ever, and I promise when the doors finally reopen everyone will be in agreement this has been worth the wait," Small said in a release. "... The finished product will be able to compete with any other Aquarium in the entire country."
Atlantic City Aquarium, which is owned by the city, is located at 800 North New Hampshire Ave. When it was last open it had eight tanks, totaling 29,800 gallons, featuring more than 100 varieties of fish and other marine animals.
Along with the aquarium updates, Gardner's Basin is also undergoing several other renovation projects in the coming months. Atlantic City received a $1.4 million grant to demolish the bathroom next to the aquarium, which has been closed for years, and build a new public bathroom facility which could open by summer 2025. Starting by the spring, projects will begin to improve the maintenance building, security cameras and trash and recycling collection. Recently completed projects at Gardner's Basin include pier and piling replacements, dredging, new lighting and signage, improvements to parking areas and sidewalks, and new electric vehicle charging stations.
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