Atlanta
(2003-05-29)
ATLANTA
(WABE) -
Dignitaries from local government, the Marcus Foundation and The Coca-Cola Co. used fish-shaped shovels to break ground May 29 on construction of the Georgia Aquarium and the new World of Coca-Cola, a project city leaders hope will revive downtown.Thursday's ceremony, attended by Mayor Shirley Franklin, Gov. Sonny Perdue, Coke CEO Doug Daft, and Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, among others, marked the first phase in the development of the 20-acre site just north of Centennial Olympic Park.
Marcus is donating the $200 million to build the Georgia Aquarium, which will eventually be run by a nonprofit board, he said.
The 400,000-square-foot aquarium will include an education wing for school children and food court and a grand meeting space large enough for 12,000 to 14,000 people and designed for events during the city's biggest conventions.
Marcus said the attraction which looks like a Titanic-style ocean liner, was designed on the idea of an ark. It will be a vessel of preservation, Marcus said.
It will open in 2005 next to a new World of Coke museum, which will move from Underground Atlanta to the new site.
Its mascot, unveiled Wednesday, will be an orange fish named Deepo, a pun on deep and the company Marcus started in 1979.
Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) donated approximately 9 acres to The Georgia Aquarium Inc., an organization established by The Marcus Foundation to operate the aquarium.
Marcus said he and his wife Billie donated the facility in part to help the city's hospitality industry.
For the first time we have the potential for creating an environment like Baltimore ... or New Orleans, Marcus said. A place where people will say, let's pack up the kids and go to Atlanta for the weekend.'
Daft said the aquarium and the new Coke museum will help the city's center and its convention business.
Mayor Franklin, the Georgia Aquarium ... will bring significant momentum to revitalizing downtown, Daft said. Gov. Perdue, this will complement the state's investment in the Georgia World Congress Center and keep our convention resources competitive with every other city in the world.
The aquarium will be among the largest such attractions in the world, with a 5 million gallon tank of 50,000 animals from 500 species of aquatic fish and wildlife.
For some comparison, the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has a 3 million gallon tank. The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga has a 500,000 gallon tank, but it plans to add another 750,000 gallon exhibit by 2005.
At the ceremonies, it was also announced construction of a new headquarters for Sheltering Arms Child Development & Family Support is being incorporated into the design for the aquarium and the Coke museum. The agency's new facility, including administrative offices, a statewide training institute, and an early childhood education center, will be located one block north of the aquarium plaza. © Copyright 2009, WABE
