Plans for 250,000-SF Georgia Aquarium in the Works

ATLANTA-After years of talk, the city will actually get an aquarium, The Georgia Aquarium, now that Home Depot chairman Bernie Marcus has committed $200 million to the project. Marcus plans a 250,000-sf complex that will open to the public in 2005.

The Marcus Foundation, Marcus’s philanthropic arm, is funding the project and will provide the aquarium with operational funds for the first few years until it can sustain itself through private donations and profits.

Marcus reveals the news of what he calls a “thank you” to Home Depot customers and associates at a news conference with Gov. Roy Barnes. According to Marcus, the aquarium will have more than five million gallons of water and will contain “some of the most exotic fishes and animals you’ve ever seen in your life.”