Study picks Kent Co. as best spot for John Ball Zoo aquarium
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — An economic study has determined a John Ball Zoo aquarium should be located in Kent County.
In February of 2021, John Ball Zoo said it was exploring the possibility of building an aquarium. At the time, it said it could happen in 5 to 10 years. In October of that same year, it said it would conduct a study to see if it would make more sense to have it in Kent County or Muskegon County.
The study was completed in 2023 by Canopy Strategic Partners, the zoo said in a Wednesday release.
“Both Kent and Muskegon counties would be amazing partners on this exciting project, and it’s been a pleasure partnering with forward-thinking local officials as we continue to plan for an aquarium that will bring huge economic benefits to West Michigan,” John Ball Zoo CEO Peter D’Arienzo said in the release. “The research showed both communities offer unique destination traits of lakeshore recreation versus urban core entertainment. At this time, Kent County reflects greater financial and operational capacity to move this project forward.”
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The aquarium could have a $2.9 billion net economic impact in Kent County over 10 years, the study found. It would also create 2,427 jobs and generate more than $231 million in state and local tax revenue over the first decade.
Economic expert Paul Isely, the Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business associate dean, said while the full study hasn’t been made available yet, the estimates fall in line with expectations for similar projects.
He noted that the initial building costs are a big part of the economic impact.
“The cost of construction has been rated at hundreds of millions of dollars,” he told News 8. “So it’s very easy to get very close to a billion dollars just in the construction impact, because construction is very local. You’re getting stuff very locally, you’re building it, you’re hiring people very locally.”
Zoo leaders expect it would draw people from across the country, and those visitors would also stop at local restaurants, retailers and other venues.
Isely noted that other area attractions would help amplify the aquarium’s economic impact by bringing in more people.
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“What this does is it increases the number of different things somebody could do if they came to Grand Rapids. So now they can go to the zoo, they can go to (Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park), they can go to the aquarium,” he explained. “There’s lots and lots of other venues here and the more there is, the more there’s the ability to say, ‘Hey, let’s go spend a weekend in Grand Rapids.’”
John Ball Zoo creates more than $100 million in economic activity each year and draws more than 700,000 visitors annually, it said.
The closest large-scale aquarium is in Chicago, the zoo noted. It said an aquarium of the scale it’s looking at has not been built in the country in the last two decades.
“We at John Ball Zoo are incredibly excited about the potential of this project to expand our mission of saving wildlife and wild places, providing meaningful educational experiences and delivering amazing economic benefits to our community,” D’Arienzo said.
The aquarium could be funded in part by a potential increase to the county’s hotel tax. A new state law allows the 5% tax to be raised to 8%.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners is set to vote Thursday on putting the issue before voters in the Aug. 6 primary. The hotel tax could also help pay for two other major projects planned in Grand Rapids, the Acrisure Amphitheater and the soccer stadium.
— News 8’s Kyle Mitchell contributed to this report.
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