The land deal will cost an estimated $8 million, a price that includes the relocation of an existing city repair garage; while phase one will price out at $35 million. Additional phases at the site are expected to produce an animal rescue center, research lab, and potentially, a hotel and conference center. The entire campus development project is expected to cost $110 million.

Situated along the Patapsco River, the future home of the Center for Aquatic Life is currently a brownfield site that will require cleanup before the development process can get underway. Officials of the National Aquarium have long had the property in their sights, but issues with the Environmental Protection Agency and the consideration of other locations slowed the selection process. But what is now a mini-environmental nightmare will evolve into a "green" property featuring a building with an energy efficient design, efficient water usage and use of ecologically friendly materials.

The Center for Aquatic Life will be a supplement, not a replace the existing 23-year-old, 250,000-sf National Aquarium facility on Pratt St. in the Inner Harbor. That headquarters site is currently undergoing an expansion of its own; a $66 million endeavor that will produce a 65,400-sf Australian Outback exhibit scheduled to open in the fall of next year.