The Space Coast’s first large-scale aquarium is one step closer to becoming reality after Port Canaveral commissioners voted last week to approve its lease.
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The Bowen Aquarium, which is expected to cost $200 million to build, will break ground this December on a 14-acre plot of Port Canaveral land at 650 George King Blvd. facing the Indian River Lagoon. This will represent the second campus for the East Coast Zoological Foundation (ECZF), which brought the community-backed Brevard Zoo to life three decades ago.
“We have an amazing aquarium that’s going to educate and entertain tens of millions of people for decades to come,” said Milo Zonka, the board chair for the ECZF.
Focused on the Indian River Lagoon and its surrounding ecosystems, the Bowen Aquarium is expected to open by the end of 2028 or early 2029, with an estimated half-million visitors annually. With indoor and outdoor environments to explore, the facility will be home to native Florida marine life including multiple species of sharks, Atlantic stingrays, octopuses, river otters, alligators, seahorses and more.
“The beauty of the Port Canaveral site is that it’s on the Indian River Lagoon,” Zonka said. “The aquarium is a love letter to the lagoon. It gives people that education and experience and an opportunity to help participate in saving it.”
The center will showcase the work of Restore Our Shores, the Indian River Lagoon restoration effort backed by ECZF. The facility will also feature an exhibit on Port Canaveral’s lock system and a sea turtle rehabilitation center.
“We’re trying to show where we are and who’s living with us in East Central Florida and in the lagoon,” Zonka said. “Part of the goal of all this is for people to walk away attached to the lagoon in a way that’s different than just driving over it on a bridge.”
The ECZF entered into an initial 31-year lease with Port Canaveral, with a base rent of $20,883.33 per month, or $250,000 per year, and an option for three five-year extensions. The port will collect additional rent of up to $1 per paid admission on a sliding scale.
Port Canaveral won’t collect rent until January of 2033 or the fifth anniversary of the project opening, whichever comes first.
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The aquarium team learned last month that a proposed overpass of State Road 528, currently under consideration by Port Canaveral, could affect the aquarium’s parking and operations, at least temporarily. However, there is no timeline for building the George King Boulevard west overpass extension, and Port Canaveral commissioners agreed to work with the ECZF to ensure their future success.
The ECZF has been fundraising for years to get this project off the ground, following its 2021 development agreement with Port Canaveral. Since then, Zonka said the organization has raised more than $80 million of its $140 million goal. He estimated the total project cost will be about $200 million — $180 million in construction costs and $20 million in design and permitting.
Zonka said the nonprofit will pursue tax-exempt bonds to front the money needed to start the project, then focus on paying down debt while raising additional funds to support construction and opening costs.
The aquarium is named after John and Pat Bowen, who donated the first $1 million to get the project off the ground. They also helped close a funding gap after EZCF didn’t get state funding for the project.
Just as community spirit and backing made the Brevard Zoo a reality, Zonka sees the same grassroots effort to move the aquarium closer to completion.
“It’s going to be a labor of love for a lot of people to get it going, but now they’re all going to have an address and a point of reference to see how this thing comes out of the ground,” Zonka said. “We’re starting to turn the renderings into reality, which is what I’m always excited about.”
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