BRANSON, Mo. — Construction crews are hard at work on the site of the old Grand Palace — where the brand new 46-thousand-square-foot “Aquarium at the Boardwalk” is being built — and it’s creating quite a bit of excitement for people in the area.

Those who work in the Grand Village Shops — right across from the site, have come to work day after day seeing a desolate lot with no activity.

Now, with the resurrection of that site, comes the prospect of new business and new life.

“Well, we are very excited about that.” said Stefanie Mitchell, who works at “Lori’s Soap Market” in the village shops, “We are actually hoping that that’s going to bring in a lot more business for this area here.”

The Grand Village Shops are almost secretly tucked away in an area adjacent to the site of the new aquarium.

For the people who work in these quaint little specialty stores and boutiques — an aquarium coming to town is really good news.

“We’re quite excited at the “Grand Glitz,” said Jenifer Withey, who manages the women’s apparel store.

“Cause I’ve been here 10 years, and that’s been empty for the 10 years I’ve been here. So,it would be really nice to have something new and fresh coming into town,” said Withey.

Mitchell says the Grand Palace lot has been empty for the entire 13-years they’ve been in that location.

“And it’s actually kind of made me sad to see such a beautiful building like that, you know..go to waste,” Mitchell said.

These store managers are excited about new visitors, for more reasons than one.

“Cause it would be good to pair with them…to tell people about the aquarium. You know where it’s located –and therefore maybe they can do some marketing with us,” said Withey.

Because it’s about new business — and it’s also about new life.

“It’s gonna be bringing I think the families with the younger kids — which I think is what we need to be pulling into Branson,” Withey said.

“I love meeting new people,” said Mitchell, “So, it would be great to have you know, different cultures and different things like that coming in. That would be just fabulous actually.”

One of the managers says she’s looking forward to possibly partnering with the Aquarium owners to increase business for her store and the aquarium.

The aquarium is set to open in March of 2020.