New York's Times Square may be getting a new tenant: a seven-story aquarium.
Jerry Shefsky, a Toronto-based developer, said on Wednesday that he has signed a preliminary agreement with the landlord of an office tower on the western edge of Times Square to go forward with the $100 million project. He would install tanks featuring sharks, rays, penguins, otters, and other ******* in the bottom floors of the 40-story building, known as 11 Times Square, hoping to attract some of the 35 million people who pass through Manhattan's major crossroads every year.
Mr. Shefsky, 76 years old, has built aquariums and shopping centers around the world. He cautioned in an interview that the lease agreement for 11 Times Square isn't yet final. But he said he may start building out the space as early as this April with the hope of opening the aquarium in September 2011.
The Times Square project would likely have fewer fish than some of the high-profile aquariums built in recent years. Mr. Shefsky says he currently expects his tanks to contain about 600,000 gallons of water. Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium, which opened in 2005, has more than eight million gallons of water.
In snowy Midtown on Wednesday, there seemed to be some demand for another tourist attraction in the area. "Would I really like to go to an aquarium? No, I have one in Long Beach," said Helene Mayer, a 44-year-old occupational therapist from Los Angeles who had brought her 9-year-old *** to the M&M World store in Times Square. But, she said, "now we're looking for another indoor activity to do," and an aquarium "would offer **** a great opportunity in a fun area."
Mr. Shefsky said he has lined up financial backers to help pay for the aquarium's installation, which will cost more than $100 million. He declined to name those backers, and he said he wasn't ready to release a rendering of the aquarium. Mr. Shefsky discussed his plans after an inquiry from a reporter.
