The Austin Aquarium is still on schedule to open in November or December, owner and co-founder Vince Covino said.
Construction is more than halfway completed at the former Lack's Furniture location in Northwest Austin, he said. On Sept. 4, crews took the big step of pouring concrete for the fish tanks.
"Everything is looking good," Covino said. "We're right on schedule and where we'd hope we'd be."
When completed, the 22,000-square-foot aquarium will have 3,000 species for a total of 10,000 animals in 35 exhibits. Covino said they chose the location in Northwest Austin because of the easy access and where growth is occurring.
"When you build an aquarium, you have to look at, 'Is it a good location in 10 years?'" Covino said.
Not all news coming out of the planned aquarium has been positive.
Several allegations have surfaced against Covino and his company in recent weeks, including that the business did not have the proper construction permits and that staff were improperly caring for animals at Covino's Portland facility.
In an Aug. 30 letter to future patrons, Covino addressed the allegations, stating that he wanted to clear up any misconceptions and misunderstandings. He created a list of frequently asked questions, which is available for download here.
In response to not having the correct permits, he said the aquarium is properly permitted for construction and that permits are posted on the building. Covino said he has been in contact with city of Austin staff on a daily basis for the past two weeks and has had numerous in-person meetings.
The city did ask aquarium staff to remove animals from the premise after a routine inspection because staff thought that having animals on site would not be out of compliance with the aquarium's permits, according to the Aug. 30 letter.
Covino said that The University of Texas at Austin did suspend its partnership with the aquarium until it could have more clarity regarding recent media articles. He said hopes that partnership will resume so that the university could design a high-tech exhibit. The exhibit would not have animals in it but would allow patrons to digitally engage with animals, he said.
The letter states that Ammon Covino, Vince's brother who is designing and building the Austin Aquarium, did plead guilty to purchasing wildlife without a permit for the Idaho Aquarium. Covino said the Idaho facility is not connected to the facilities in Austin or Portland.
Covino said in the letter that all animals purchased for the Portland Aquarium and in Austin's quarantine system are legal and permitted.
Covino said he's received a mixed response to recent press: some positive comments and more attention in general, but also some negative feedback.
"Some folks won't have the full enjoyment of [the aquarium]," Covino said. " But by and large, people are excited about it. I have no doubt there will be thousands of people everyday for the first three months."
About 2 percent of the people who purchased annual passes have asked for a refund. Covino said that is double than normal, and he attributes the amount to recent media articles.
More information may be found at www.austinaquarium.com. The facility regularly provides updates on its Facebook page.
