ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — For the first time, local families and students will have a new underwater attraction to dive into and it will be right in the middle of the nation's oldest city.
Founders of the St. Augustine Aquarium broke ground Monday to start the construction of their multi-million dollar project.
More than two years in the making, Kathy and Sean Hiester are finally able to break ground on their dream plan to build an aquarium and zip line adventure in St. Augustine.
What used to be a run-down, heavily wooded field blighted by a business that brought bad memories to neighbors is now a fenced in stretch of land that will house some of Florida's coolest creatures that lurk beneath the ocean's surface.
"We are going to have an 80,000-gallon, 50-foot diameter habitat with Florida reef fish and rays and you can come out and just look at them or if you would like to, you can put on a wet suit with mask and get in the water and see what it's like to snorkel with them," said Hiester.
Latest News Headlines from Action News
The snorkel and zip line adventure is all part of phase one, a $1 million capital investment for St. Johns County that the Chamber of Commerce says will reel in some much-needed cash.
"That means more tax dollars coming in for St. Johns County to be able to grow the county as we move forward," said chamber president Isabelle Rodriguez.
The driving force behind this project was the educational component to show local students Florida's marine life that's yet to have been explored.
"I have a couple of summer camps already scheduled in July so we're excited about that," said Hiester.
Phase one will be complete in June. Phase two will follow shortly after with the main attraction on display: a 100,000-gallon tank with a recreated ship wreck inside filled with sharks.
"I love aquariums and if more people out there are like me I think this is going to be perfect," said neighbor Dan Swiedles.
We're told this new attraction will also be the piece the county needed to connect the outlets to bustling downtown.
For Action News on the go, sign up for Action News Mobile & Email alerts
WJAX
