This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake City will continue to hold land for The Living Planet Aquarium. The agreement signed Thursday night requires the aquarium have enough money - between $40 million to $53 million - by June 2008. If not, the city's Redevelopment Agency can sell the 4 acres west of Pioneer Park to someone else for a different project. If Living Planet gets the money - probably through a Salt Lake County bond in 2006 - the facility would be built by 2010. Living Planet will be allowed to build retail, offices and residences on the land - as long as it builds a 75,000- to 100,000-square-foot aquarium at the same time. Councilman Dale Lambert worried the project would turn into a housing development instead of an aquarium. Aquarium president Brent Andersen said ex-Disney planners suggested that the aquarium develop other uses at the same time for cohesiveness. - Heather May
