Rotterdam

A month after it opened, the aquarium at the Via Port Rotterdam mall is drawing more visitors than expected.

The 25,000-square-foot aquarium features freshwater and saltwater fish, and it has two tunnel tanks that let customers walk through as fish swim on three sides of them.

"It's going really well," said David Gross, the aquarium's director, said last week. "We've had over 35,000 visits and more than 5,000 people have opted for annual passes. We are doing a little better than I expected. We are expecting about 200,000 a year. In a little over a month, we've done 35,000."

The aquarium's impact on revitalizing the shopping center is yet to be seen.

The foot traffic is making a difference, Gross said.

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