The Pittsburgh Zoo is considering building a stand-alone aquarium on the North Shore.
The zoo pitched the idea of the Pennsylvania Aquarium on Monday, saying it would be the first new major attraction to the North Shore since PNC Park opened in 2001.
The project is in the “conceptual and exploratory phase,” the zoo said. An economic impact study has been commissioned and a coalition of regional leaders will assess factors like feasibility and funding to determine whether the project is viable.
The zoo said it envisions a large-scale and immersive stand-alone destination that would expand on the offerings of its current aquarium in Pittsburgh’s Highland Park neighborhood.
“Pennsylvania is the most populous state without a stand-alone aquarium,” Pittsburgh Zoo President and CEO Dr. Jeremy Goodman said in a news release. “The Pennsylvania Aquarium would expand the Zoo’s physical and conservation footprint, connecting the city and state to aquatic animals from around the planet as well as those that are native to the Commonwealth, celebrating our life-sustaining relationship with water and aquatic life in ways as we can present only in Pittsburgh.”
The idea is still in the early stages. The zoo said no construction timeline has been established and no final location decisions have been made. Site feasibility would be part of the evaluation process.
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