Boise’s aquarium wants significant expansion. Here’s what we know about the plans
The Aquarium of Boise is planning to expand, according to a letter sent to the city of Boise.
Glenn Walker, of Meridian’s ADP Architects, wrote that the plan will involve two phases. The first will be installing walls, doors and life support equipment for fish, Walker wrote. That phase will encompass almost 15,000 square feet of space.
The second phase will include almost 4,000 square feet, bringing the total aquarium area to over 18,000 square feet, Walker said in the letter.
The rest of the building, near Cole and Franklin roads, will be used by the gymnastics facility that’s already there, the letter said.
The aquarium utilizes 10,000 square feet, according to its website, so the expansion represents nearly a doubling of its space.
Boise’s aquarium opened in 2010 as the former Idaho Aquarium. A cofounder was sent to prison for conspiring to bring illegally harvested animals to the area, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. The Idaho Attorney General’s Office found problems with record keeping and charitable-donation requests.
A new nonprofit took over in 2013 and changed the name to Aquarium of Boise in 2014. Nathan Hall, head biologist at the aquarium, told the Statesman in 2024, “We’ve worked really, really, really hard to distance ourselves from any sort of connection” to the former owners.
In 2023, a developer planned to do away with the building and build 200 apartments. But that plan never materialized.
Walker did not return a request for comment. The aquarium did not respond to a request for comment submitted via its website’s contact form.
