A $30 million expansion of the Tennessee Aquarium will feature a 75-000-gallon saltwater tank as well as an interactive rooftop garden.
Construction on the Aquarium's "sister building" is slated to get underway next summer.
The new section of the Aquarium will be freestanding and located near Market Street about 75 feet from the existing building - where the Aquarium tent is now located. It will be connected to the Aquarium by a walkway with a canopy cover.
The original Aquarium, built 10 years ago, was freshwater, but the new section will have a saltwater component and continue the story line of following a drop of water to the Gulf of Mexico. The next section will focus on life in the Gulf.
The new part of the Aquarium is set to open May 1, 2005, and will be housed in a 60,000-square-foot building.
Visitors will take an escalator to the second-floor tank area or go on up to the tidal pool touch tank on the top floor.
The saltwater exhibit will be nearly eight times the size of the current Gulf exhibit and "give visitors a vast and endless view. Much like the open ocean, the boundaries of the exhibit won't be discernible."
It is to include "10-foot-long sharks, fierce barracuda, schools of silvery jacks and a mosaic of colorful reef fish."
The main tank "will be surrounded by smaller galleries that may feature unusual creatures like cuttlefish, squid and jellyfish."
The sea floor of the new Gulf exhibit will mimic the underwater Flower Garden of the National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico, where coral formations unlike any other in the world occur."
Officials said, "As visitors travel to the top of the new building, they'll be enveloped by natural light streaming in through a wall of windows that showcases the natural beauty of the Tennessee River and the mountains and hills beyond."
Peter Chermayeff of Boston, who designed the original Aquarium, was present Wednesday morning for an unveiling of the new design.
He said it will "build upon what we've already got with power and grace - taking people out into the Gulf."
He said the top of the new facility will glow at night and feature a garden under a floating roof that is open to the sky.
The famed architect said the addition will be part of "the celebration of a city and the making of an attraction. It will play a leading role in dramatically drawing closer to the river and making this a marvelous public place and a wonderful place to be."
He said Chattanooga is "a city that has taken its river into its heart in the fullest way."
Aquarium President Charlie Arant said the Aquarium "has far exceeded all our expectations." He said the new section "will be equally as important as the original Aquarium."
He noted the Aquarium added the IMAX and in 1998 began staging changing exhibits. He said the annex is part of "keeping the Aquarium fresh, new and ever-changing."
Mr. Arant said the Aquarium is facing increasing competition in its 150-mile region, including $300 million in attraction projects now on the drawing boards. Atlanta plans a major new downtown aquarium, and Gatlinburg has opened one.
He said in visitor surveys, many said they would like to see large saltwater species and also would like interactive areas for children.
Mayor Bob Corker said, "The Aquarium is a wonderful gift that just keeps giving." He noted that "not one penny of city or county money has gone into it."
He said the Aquarium has brought "hotels and restaurants, but also a quality of life for Chattanooga that is absolutely incredible. It has brought a gift of self-confidence and esteem for the citizens of Chattanooga."
The new section will be privately funded just as the original Aquarium was.
Aquarium president Charlie Arant