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The North New Hampshire Avenue aquarium is now expected to reopen in December, Mayor Marty Small Sr. said at a news conference on Monday, Sept. 30. Earlier in the year, the city twice announced the facility would reopen in September and right before the Fourth of July.
The renovations have faced many delays due to funding and supply chain issues, along with crews discovering worse conditions than previously expected like mold inside the walls.
"We're never going to do anything expedient for the sake of saying that we got it done," said Mayor Small. "We want to make sure that it's a safe place for our visitors, our residents, and more importantly, our employees that are there on a daily basis."
The aquarium on Gardner's Basin has been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. According to the aquarium's Facebook page, it was temporarily closed for reconstruction and "tentatively" scheduled to reopen in the fall of 2023.
New roofing, windows, and floors have been added to the building. The aquarium also has a new deck and ceiling for the top-level lookout area, along with new touch tanks on the completely redone second floor.
The original renovation project didn't include upgrades to the outside of the building. The city said it secured money from the American Rescue Plan to pay for those improvements.
Exterior work is nearly finished and a new HVAC system is being installed.
"Once these two things are completed, we'll have a full-blown aquarium that can compete with any other aquarium in any other city," said city engineering director Uzoma Ahiarakwe.
The mayor also announced the city is receiving $1.4 million in grants to demolish the bathroom on the Gardner's Basin seawall next to the aquarium and build a new one. Demolition will begin later in the fall with the goal of opening the new bathroom in time for the summer of 2025.
The bathroom replacement will join other projects like a new pier and waterway dredging in the historic Gardner's Basin.
"It's a gem," Ahiarakwe said. "It's an area of the city that literally has a lot of possibilities."
City council president Aaron Randolph, who also represents Gardner's Basin in the first ward, said the upgrades around the aquarium will help revive the north end.
"We need to get it open," said Randolph. "This place here is always filled, cars are always here, and the aquarium is our number one jewel."
Mayor Small also said there's already a demand from visitors who want to return to the renovated aquarium despite the facility's planned reopening outside of tourist season.
"The aquarium is not a summer thing," the mayor said. "Once we get up and open, you have people who have been dying to book school trips from North Jersey, locally, and more."
The city owns the aquarium and it's operated by the public works department. When it was last open, admission was $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for children, and free for kids 3 and under.
Aquarium staff said the new admission prices haven't been determined yet.
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