PORT CANAVERAL — After years of delays, cost increases, and revised timelines, Brevard County’s future aquarium finally has a firm groundbreaking date on the calendar.
Bowen Aquarium and Conservation Center announced Tuesday that it will officially break ground on December 2, 2026, at its 14-acre site along the Port Canaveral shoreline. The announcement came alongside news that the aquarium’s design is now complete.
Construction is expected to take approximately two years, with the facility hoping to open in 2028.
The project has been years in the making. The facility is managed by the East Coast Zoological Foundation, the nonprofit organization that also operates Brevard Zoo. The aquarium is designed to fill a gap in major aquarium facilities along the I-95 corridor south of Charleston, South Carolina.
The aquarium is named in honor of John and Pat Bowen, longtime Brevard Zoo members whose philanthropic contributions helped launch the $100 million “Our Legacy Campaign” after the state of Florida cut $1 million in planning funding, stalling the project.
The project’s total cost has grown to $140 million, up considerably from initial expectations, according to East Coast Zoological Foundation CEO Keith Winsten. Despite the rising costs, the aquarium is projected to generate $128 million annually in economic impact.
The groundbreaking date itself has shifted multiple times. Earlier this year, the foundation had been seeking an extension to break ground by April 20, 2026. The newly announced date of December 2 represents the latest milestone in a project that originally targeted a 2025 groundbreaking.
Bowen Aquarium will focus on species from the Indian River Lagoon and surrounding waterways, including bull sharks, river otters, Atlantic stingrays, American alligators, sea turtles, manatees, and more. The facility will not house dolphins or other cetaceans.
Design highlights include an immersive dune entryway and a working seagrass nursery along the Banana River shoreline. A Coastal Conservation Hub will support research, while on-site rehabilitation space will be dedicated to injured sea turtles and manatees.
In February, Congressman Mike Haridopolos announced $1.75 million in federal funding for the Scaife Family Sea Turtle Care Complex, a 12,873-square-foot facility that will include approximately 10,000 square feet of indoor exhibition, rehabilitation, and veterinary space.
The aquarium aims to educate and empower more than 500,000 visitors annually and serve as a regional conservation hub with an emphasis on restoring the Indian River Lagoon.
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