Mystic Aquarium seeks permit for $3.5 million research, education facility
Mystic — Mystic Aquarium is seeking a special use permit from the Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission so it can construct a $3.5 million conservation, education and research center on the eastern portion of its Coogan Boulevard campus.
The two-story, 11,000-square-foot facility would be called the Milne Ocean Conservation Center. Plans are to break ground for the facility in 2018, once fundraising is completed.
The project is a revision of an earlier plan for an updated research facility at the aquarium.
While the new building will have a research component, aquarium spokeswoman Dale Wolbrink said some aquarium scientists are now conducting research at the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus, which she said has been a tremendous collaboration between the two institutions.
The commission has scheduled a March 21 public hearing on the application. The building, which will have a public component, would be located adjacent to the existing Aquatic Animal Study Center.
Plans call for first floor to have a large area for animal holding, a conference room and lobby. The second floor will have space for the Sea School and two classrooms.
The Milne Ocean Conservation Center is one of the initial phases of what Mystic Aquarium officials envision as a $25 million to $50 million update of the institution and its exhibits over the next decade.
The aquarium last completed a $50 million renovation and expansion in 1999 that updated all of the facility’s exhibits, created a new entrance pavilion and built the Institute for Exploration, which featured the expeditions of Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard.
Comment threads are monitored for 48 hours after publication and then closed.