Albany

For a community its size, the Capital Region lacks family attractions that might make an aquarium in Albany an attractive addition, a consultant hired by one interested party concluded.

Omni Development paid for the first phase of a study of the project's feasibility. It has been pushing the idea for the site off Broadway where a new convention center was originally planned; Omni owns the adjoining property.

"We were retained about six or so weeks ago to look at the question of what type of educational attraction would make sense in downtown Albany," said Thomas Martin, president of ConsultEcon. The Cambridge, Mass-based consultant conducted the study.

Elena Kazlas, a principal of the firm, said the consultant looked at 40 communities ranging from populations of 700,000 to 1.6 million. The Capital Region has 870,000 residents.

"The Albany metro market right now has a couple of children's science centers and seasonal zoos," she said.

Average attendance at those sites lags behind similar facilities in other regions, she said. While the other areas' averaged 354,823 annual visitors to their zoos, aquariums, science and children's centers, the Capital Region averaged only 53,759.

She suggested that indicates an untapped market. Based on experiences elsewhere, she said, zoos and aquariums provide more of a draw than science centers and children's museums.

"We determined that the optimal attraction for Albany is an aquarium that includes science center elements," she said.

Martin said Omni did not ask his firm to come to a predetermined conclusion.

"Our client here came to us like any client does and said 'We have some thoughts but we're not sure,'" he said.

But might the lack of attendance at existing facilities indicate a similar dearth of the support for the aquarium venture?

"It was interesting to us. Almost everybody did better than Albany, which shocked me," Martin said. "Income and education would suggest there would be more than there is. Does the research suggest there is something wrong with Albany? No. It just is what it is. It bodes well."

Omni also brought former Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield to its news conference Thursday at the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Albany.

Twenty years ago, that Tennessee city created its own aquarium and faced some of the same skepticism now being voiced locally, he said.

"There were naysayers: 'You don't want to spend public money on such an endeavor,''' Littlefield said. In the end, the private sector raised the $45 million to build the aquarium. Public funds were used for the surrounding plaza.

"We began to see life come back to an otherwise dead area," he said. "We have hotels that weren't there before. We have restaurants that weren't there before."

I. David Swawite, president and CEO of Omni Development, said Albany needs to follow that example.

"That's what we need in Albany is a transformational project," he said.

He and Richard Zipes, president of Omni Realty Development Corp., said the company was not looking out for its own self-interest.

"The city as it is today is languishing in decay and if you know anything about the budget, there is a significant deficit in the budget," Zipes said. "The idea is to turn Albany into a transformational city."

Omni plans to fund two more phases over the next six weeks to determine how much it would cost to build and operate an aquarium and to outline the potential economic impact. ConsultEcon will handle those phases as well. Swawite declined to say how much his firm was paying for the study.

Zipes said the facility itself might not be a moneymaker but would draw other development around it.

So far, Omni has been largely alone in promoting the idea, although a local educator independently had started an Albany Aquarium Facebook page to drum up support.

Swawite said he is trying to engage others to publicly back the concept.

While few business and elected leaders have supported the concept publicly, Swawite said, he has received personal comments indicating the community wants such a facility.

"We do have a lot of public support," he said. "I've started already trying to get people involved."

tobrien@timesunion.com • 518-454-5092 • @timobrientu