According to the
Globe & Mail,
Toronto could see the completion of a 50,000 square-foot aquarium at
the foot of the CN Tower within the next three years: "a boon for the
nearby entertainment and waterfront districts, and for the burgeoning
convention business in Toronto". Ripley's Believe It Or Not, the
company behind the proposed attraction is also slated to construct a
47,000-square-foot retail and restaurant on the site. While the
proposal is still tentative, as no funding plan has yet been finalized,
the Canada Lands Company (CLC), (the Crown corporation which owns the
CN Tower) have already signed a long-term land lease deal with Ripley.
"There's
a reason they're choosing Toronto - it speaks well of the destination,"
said David Whitaker, the president and chief executive officer of
Tourism Toronto. "We're really starting to find our swagger."
But
landing the contract to build and operate an aquarium in the shadow of
one of Canada's most popular tourist draws is also a coup for Vancouver
business titan Jim Pattison: Ripley Entertainment Inc., is a division
of his Jim Pattison Group, the third-largest private company in the
country.
"The location is magnificent for us," said Tim O'Brien,
vice-president of communications for Ripley, which already owns two
major aquariums in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Gatlinburg, Tenn."
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Globe & Mail article