Putting an Aquarium in Shannon Park

[QUADONE]

Originally Posted by kwajo

I'm quite sure he didn't mean any disrespect, it was a lighthearted aquarium joke ("fishy" ---> fish ---> the type of animals found in aquariums).

Sorry about my not seeing the lighthearted joke. This project is very important
and I am not much for humor when it comes to getting this off the ground and
being built by the Summer of 2012.

Anyways, moving forward and thanks for pointing this joke out for me.

[fenwick16]

I haven't heard of any Beluga whales off the Nova Scotian shore. I did read that there is quite a bit of opposition to keeping Beluga whales captive - http://www.cmeps.org/pdf/CaptiveBelugaReport.pdf .

[Empire]

I hope the project moves forward. Being a maritime community we could use a living museum of the Atlantic.

$125 million?

[sdm]

Originally Posted by halifaxboyns

Maritime Steel? That location doesn't come to my mind - can you provide a google map for it? It's coming up with a big '?' in my mind right now! Thanks!

565 windmill road.

The property runs all the way to wrights cove.

[QUADONE]

Originally Posted by fenwick16

I haven't heard of any Beluga whales off the Nova Scotian shore. I did read that there is quite a bit of opposition to keeping Beluga whales captive - http://www.cmeps.org/pdf/CaptiveBelugaReport.pdf .

Please read this and you will see the importance of what this huge massive
aquarium will be doing for this beautiful creature.

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-esp...Hudson-eng.htm

[QUADONE]

Originally Posted by Empire

I hope the project moves forward. Being a maritime community we could use a living museum of the Atlantic.

$125 million?

The big picture here is having aquatic life being saved from being killed by
whomever is in charge of those Oil Rigs & Tankers that end up having oil spills
due to accidents etc. The value of life has no price in my books, but the built
facility of this nature will no doubt be in the millions.

More information coming soon...

[gm_scott]

QUADONE...
I was wondering if there are any aquariums in the world which would be close in size to the one your proposing for the Maritimes. It would be nice to know so I could get an idea of size and cost.

Thanks

[Jonovision]

First off I love the idea of an aquarium in Halifax.

I can't see how you can make it zero emissions on this site using only solar power. Your array would have to be huge. An aquarium uses a hell of a lot more power then a normal building because of all the pumps and heaters or coolers and filters for the water management systems. And lets face it, we don't live in the sunniest part of the world.

Also, I do not think it wise to go into a hotel project and "assume" it will be fully occupied year round.

No offence in any of the comments. It's just the skeptic coming out in me.

[kwajo]

Originally Posted by QUADONE

The funding will come from environmental grants federally and provincially
and fund raisers that our advisory group will be working on over the next
several months. There are some very important key players that are
currently waiting on our finished Executive Summary & Feasibility Report,
which is more than 75 pages at the moment and I expect it take another 50
more pages before it is completed.

This project has been in the planning phase since 2008, so there is already a
model constructed in diagram format right now and also a Memorandum in
place that states nobody else can put an aquarium like ours within any of
the four maritime provinces unless they go through us. This is not your
fly-by-night idea or project. Much research has went into this project by Ms.
Karen Leamon Briand who had a dream one night of a huge massive aquarium
being built somewhere with one of the four provinces. Her vision of a Beluga
(my profile picture is the logo) in the middle of dream catcher symbolizes the
paying of homage to First Nations along with the sense of saving our aquatic
life.

I hope this opens your mind more to how big this project really is.

What about the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews that has a new aquarium and research facility under construction right now?

[MonctonRad]

I also have no problems with placing a regional aquarium in Halifax. It seems like a logical place to put it.

This will however be a hugely expensive project. Even your estimate of $125M seems low. I also agree with Jonovision, there is no way you could power this with solar panels alone. Water has a very high specific heat and it would cost a lot to maintain temperatures in a specific range. Add in the pumps and filters and a large technical support staff and it will literally cost several tens of millions of dollars each year to maintain this facility.

Also, how could such a project have gotten to such a stage with "memorandums of understanding" without anyone hearing about it........

Finally, you talk about opening this up in 2012. Give me a break, it would take at least 2-3 years to build a substantial aquarium and you are still writing proposals. It just doesn't seem possible.

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I also have no problems with placing a regional aquarium in Halifax. It seems like a logical place to put it.

This will however be a hugely expensive project. Even your estimate of $125M seems low. I also agree with Jonovision, there is no way you could power this with solar panels alone. Water has a very high specific heat and it would cost a lot to maintain temperatures in a specific range. Add in the pumps and filters and a large technical support staff and it will literally cost several tens of millions of dollars each year to maintain this facility.

Also, how could such a project have gotten to such a stage with "memorandums of understanding" without anyone hearing about it........

Finally, you talk about opening this up in 2012. Give me a break, it would take at least 2-3 years to build a substantial aquarium and you are still writing proposals. It just doesn't seem possible.

Something just seems really off about this whole thing.

[cormiermax]

Agreed if this was real we would have heard something in the media. And a 2012 opening date is simply impossible.

[QUADONE]

Originally Posted by gm_scott

QUADONE...
I was wondering if there are any aquariums in the world which would be close in size to the one your proposing for the Maritimes. It would be nice to know so I could get an idea of size and cost.

Thanks

Nothing close to the size that we are proposing in the world. I will be
providing shortly a scanned diagram of the facility and the separate entities
that will be renting space within the aquarium, which again will provide
another source to help this project to sustain itself on a daily basis. The
great thing is that we will be able to use Habitat Stewardship Program for
Species at Risk from the federal government, which means they
will provide funding of $10 Million for each endangered species we chose to
provide a home for within our aquarium.

Here is a list below:

1. Atlantic Belugas [1 male & 1 female]
2. Atlantic Salomon [5 males & 5 females]
3. Water-Pennywart [2 of these]
4. Plymouth Gentian [2 of these]
5. Blanding's Turtle [1 male & 1 female]
6. Roseate Tern [1 male & 1 female]
7. Piping Plover [1 male & 1 female]
8. Harlequin Duck [1 male & 1 female]
9. Leatherback Turtle [1 male & 1 female]

These are just a few so $90 Million to build and take care of these on yearly
basis. This was just to give an idea of where we are headed.

[QUADONE]

Originally Posted by CorbeauNoir

Something just seems really off about this whole thing.

We have no intentions on bringing the media into this until our Executive
Summary & Feasibility Study/Report is completely finished. Let's just say that
Mr. Dan Dean [a developer] is very much interested in this project and he
has already in the past had indicated this in a meeting that Ms. Karen
Leamon Briand [Vice President] was at in 2008 and this is100% Fact, NOT
Fiction.

The reason it never went further after the meeting was because a strong board
of directors with professional leadership was not established then, but that has
now been rectified.

Things are going to happen though.

[midasmull]

Originally Posted by QUADONE

Nothing close to the size that we are proposing in the world. I will be
providing shortly a scanned diagram of the facility and the separate entities
that will be renting space within the aquarium, which again will provide
another source to help this project to sustain itself on a daily basis. The
great thing is that we will be able to use Habitat Stewardship Program for
Species at Risk from the federal government, which means they
will provide funding of $10 Million for each endangered species we chose to
provide a home for within our aquarium.

Here is a list below:

1. Atlantic Belugas [1 male & 1 female]
2. Atlantic Salomon [5 males & 5 females]
3. Water-Pennywart [2 of these]
4. Plymouth Gentian [2 of these]
5. Blanding's Turtle [1 male & 1 female]
6. Roseate Tern [1 male & 1 female]
7. Piping Plover [1 male & 1 female]
8. Harlequin Duck [1 male & 1 female]
9. Leatherback Turtle [1 male & 1 female]

These are just a few so $90 Million to build and take care of these on yearly
basis. This was just to give an idea of where we are headed.

After a very brief skimming of the government program you quoted, I'm quite doubtful that you would be able to secure funding through the program.

From the program website:

Protecting habitat and contributing to the recovery of species at risk are the HSP's main goals. The program focuses on results in three main areas:

1. Securing or protecting important habitat to protect species at risk and support their recovery;
2. Mitigating threats to species at risk caused by human activities; and
3. Supporting the implementation of other priority activities in recovery strategies or action plans, where these are in place or under development.

The construction of an aquarium has nothing to do with the goals of this program. In addition, the program aims to have a 1:2 leverage ratio, so you're either looking at a $270 million aquarium (based on $90 million in funding from the program) or you'll max out the program contribution at ~$42 million (based on a $125 million cost).

It's a nice idea and would be a great addition to the city, but the case that's been put forward thus far seems shaky at best.

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by QUADONE

Nothing close to the size that we are proposing in the world. I will be
providing shortly a scanned diagram of the facility and the separate entities
that will be renting space within the aquarium, which again will provide
another source to help this project to sustain itself on a daily basis. The
great thing is that we will be able to use Habitat Stewardship Program for
Species at Risk from the federal government, which means they
will provide funding of $10 Million for each endangered species we chose to
provide a home for within our aquarium.

Here is a list below:

1. Atlantic Belugas [1 male & 1 female]
2. Atlantic Salomon [5 males & 5 females]
3. Water-Pennywart [2 of these]
4. Plymouth Gentian [2 of these]
5. Blanding's Turtle [1 male & 1 female]
6. Roseate Tern [1 male & 1 female]
7. Piping Plover [1 male & 1 female]
8. Harlequin Duck [1 male & 1 female]
9. Leatherback Turtle [1 male & 1 female]

These are just a few so $90 Million to build and take care of these on yearly
basis. This was just to give an idea of where we are headed.

http://www.ec.gc.ca/hsp-pih/default....n&n=59BF488F-1

The HSP became operational in 2000-2001 and allocates up to $10 million per year to projects that conserve and protect species at risk and their habitats.

That's 10 million a year federally for all projects nationwide; I have no idea where you're getting the projection of 10mil for each individual animal for a single aquarium - available funding is listed as being 30k-100k per project a year. It's even more preposterous given that the feds have been extremely reluctant to throw money into local/provincial projects as of late - including a potential Halifax stadium that would require far less federal funding than what is being proposed here. That they would be perfectly fine with suddenly donating that kind of money for a small handful of animals, however endangered they might be, dosen't sound right at all.

Don't get me wrong, I think an aquarium in Halifax is a great idea and I'm no economist. But the finances as you've presented them thus far make no sense at all.

[kwajo]

I work in habitat conservation, restoration and stewardship, and meet with government regulators on these topics on a regular basis and I can tell you that if you expect to get $90 million from the Feds every year, you're barking up the wrong tree. Getting even $10 million, $1 million or anything over a hundred thousand on an annual basis is a pipe dream. Species at risk are a delicate subject and yes, offering programs associated with them is always more lucrative than otherwise, but it isn't some magical un-tapped fund that you can rake millions from, it requires very specific and rigorous scientific documentation and monitoring and I'm not even convinced that taking them from their native environments and putting them into an aquarium would even be considered as a habitat program (which normally includes the conservation, restoration, protection or remediation of a specific piece of habitat that came be proven to have potential for sustaining the endangered species in question).

[CorbeauNoir]

Originally Posted by kwajo

I work in habitat conservation, restoration and stewardship, and meet with government regulators on these topics on a regular basis and I can tell you that if you expect to get $90 million from the Feds every year, you're barking up the wrong tree. Getting even $10 million, $1 million or anything over a hundred thousand on an annual basis is a pipe dream.

Am I the only one who's starting to feel like this is a Dragon's Den pitch or something...?

[midasmull]

Originally Posted by CorbeauNoir

Am I the only one who's starting to feel like this is a Dragon's Den pitch or something...?

I apologize for the dated reference, but it would be like the William Hung of Dragon's Den pitches - They producers know he's bad, but put it in front of the judges for the entertainment value.

[QUADONE]

Originally Posted by Jonovision

First off I love the idea of an aquarium in Halifax.

I can't see how you can make it zero emissions on this site using only solar power. Your array would have to be huge. An aquarium uses a hell of a lot more power then a normal building because of all the pumps and heaters or coolers and filters for the water management systems. And lets face it, we don't live in the sunniest part of the world.

Also, I do not think it wise to go into a hotel project and "assume" it will be fully occupied year round.

No offence in any of the comments. It's just the skeptic coming out in me.

Actually we will be using solar panels & wind turbine technology to do all of
this. This has already been logically proven that it will more than be enough
and with the possibility of selling the excess to NS Power as well. We will be
speaking with them soon enough on this and they will be quite interested
indeed. The Hotel will be used for more than just those visiting the aquarium,
such as those attending the local entertainment being held in the three
sound stages that will be located on the second floor of the aquarium. The
diagram model will show you how it will all work in conjunction with all that
will be also part of the aquarium.

You will see that this is going to be very real soon enough.