10d. Order Seattle Aquarium Exhibit Partnership
1 Item No.: 10d 2 Meeting Date: November 16, 2021 3 4 5 ORDER NO. 2021-13 6 7 AN ORDER OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 8 9 To direct the Executive Director to develop and execute a 10 memorandum of understanding by July 29, 2022 that 11 establishes a strategic relationship with the Seattle 12 Aquarium, and commits $5,000,000 over the next five years 13 for the development of the Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion 14 including a Port-related marine environmental educational 15 exhibit. 16 17 PROPOSED 18 NOVEMBER 16, 2021 19 20 21 INTRODUCTION 22 23 The Seattle Aquarium ("Aquarium") and Port of Seattle share values that include environmental 24 stewardship of the marine environment, workforce development and equity. Headquartered on the 25 Seattle waterfront, the Port of Seattle and Seattle Aquarium are in close proximity to the Bell 26 Harbor Convention Center, marina, and cruise ship terminal at Pier 66 which are venues of great 27 public interest and attractions for tourism. 28 29 The waterfront is undergoing a major transformation associated with the removal of the Alaska 30 Way viaduct and associated construction of the new waterfront promenade and parks. Significant 31 public investments are being made by local, state, federal and private entities to create an Ocean 32 Pavilion at the Aquarium. 33 34 The purpose of the Ocean Pavilion is to educate and inspire international visitors and local 35 communities about the environmental stewardship of the marine ecosystem of the Salish Sea and 36 Pacific Ocean. The Seattle Aquarium currently draws over 850 thousand visitors per year, with 37 various programs to allow the Seattle Public School District, and underserved communities to 38 receive subsidized or free tickets. The new Ocean Pavilion is expected to draw over 1.5 million 39 visitors annually. 40 41 This presents a generational opportunity for the Port of Seattle to partner with Seattle Aquarium 42 in the development of the Ocean Pavilion and programming and create a marine-focused exhibit 43 highlighting the Port's innovative environmental programs and potentially promoting awareness 44 of the Port's maritime facilities. The new facility may also provide for future youth training and 45 workforce opportunities for participation in the blue economy. The Port's support of this effort 46 will also assist a major tourist attraction to the region. Order 2021-13 Partnership with Seattle Aquarium Re: Ocean Pavilion and Exhibit Page 1 of 4 47 48 TEXT OF THE ORDER 49 50 The Port of Seattle Commission hereby directs the Executive Director to execute a memorandum 51 of understanding by July 29, 2022, that establishes a strategic relationship with the Seattle 52 Aquarium, and commits port funding of $5,000,000 over five years for the development of the 53 Aquarium's "Ocean Pavilion" including design and construction of a marine-focused 54 environmental exhibit that provides local communities and visitors educational opportunities and 55 awareness of the Port of Seattle's environmental mission and goals for advancing ocean health, 56 the Salish Sea Ecosystem, and the blue economy, including the Port's maritime operations. 57 58 In 2022 the executive director shall commit up to $100,000 to support the design and development 59 of the Port of Seattle exhibit at the Aquarium, subject to the completion of an agreement with the 60 appropriate party. 61 62 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ORDER 63 64 The Port of Seattle has a significant governmental interest in creating a strategic relationship with 65 the Seattle Aquarium. This facility and exhibit will advance public awareness of port-related 66 marine-focused environmental programs and facilities and will serve as an important project to 67 promote and advertise Port properties and facilities. The facility and exhibit provide a platform to 68 highlight the Port's marine conservation work and will increase the public awareness of the Ports 69 environmental sustainability and maritime innovations in our region. This partnership supports the 70 Century Agenda values and goals of the Port increasing tourism, training, and job creation. 71 72 The Port's operation of this exhibit will include working with the Aquarium to market, update and 73 design the exhibit. The exhibit will highlight elements of the Port of Seattle's sustainability and 74 ocean conservation work through storytelling and interpretation in the Seattle Aquarium's Ocean 75 Pavilion, accessible public terrace landscape and rooftop that afford spectacular views of Elliott 76 Bay and Port harbor operations. 77 78 The Port partnership with the Seattle Aquarium will develop interpretive opportunities 79 highlighting the Port's work to conserve the Salish Sea and the waters traversed by ships in the 80 Trans-Pacific and Alaskan trade calling on its terminals. Selected stories would be aligned with 81 both the Aquarium and Port's missions and conservation priorities. An ad hoc committee will be 82 formed by the Port Commission, to include Port, Aquarium, and external stakeholders to aid in the 83 exhibit development and programming. 84 85 The Port's commitment to this project is in addition to contributions made by other public entities 86 including $35M from the City of Seattle, $8M from King County and $3.4M from the state of 87 Washington. Federal support is also expected to be obtained. 88 89 90 91 92 Order 2021-13 Partnership with Seattle Aquarium Re: Ocean Pavilion and Exhibit Page 2 of 4 93 94 ATTENDANCE, TOURISM AND JOB CREATION 95 The Ocean Pavilion, in association with the waterfront redevelopment, will dramatically 96 increase public interest in the waterfront and enhance Aquarium attendance. This will create 97 increased public awareness of the maritime environment while creating family wage jobs and 98 re-energize tourism to our region. 99 100 Serving almost 1 million tourists annually: The Aquarium projects attendance will climb 101 from 850,000 to 1.5 million per year with the opening of the Ocean Pavilion. Using historical 102 visitor data, it is estimated that 60 percent of visitors would be tourists, which would result in 103 the new building hosting 750,000+ tourists annually, making the Aquarium a top five Seattle 104 attraction. 105 106 Increase in tourism/waterfront visitation: According to a 2019 HR&A value study, overall 107 visitation by residents and tourists to the new waterfront is expected to increase by 20 percent 108 (1.5 million net new visitors annually). The Ocean Pavilion will provide a new connection to 109 Pike Place Market (10 million annual visitors) through its publicly accessible roof and will 110 serve as the lynchpin for the City of Seattle's new waterfront park. Signage inside and outside 111 the Ocean Pavilion will highlight port facilities such as the rooftop of the Bell Harbor 112 Convention Center where additional explanatory signage may also be installed by the Port 113 informing visitors of Port facilities and additional Aquarium exhibitory. 114 115 Job Creation: The estimated one-time economic impact to the overall waterfront is $1.1 116 billion with more than $30 million in tax revenue generated. The Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion 117 project is underway with early site work and will employ an estimated 1,583 people throughout 118 construction at a critical time as we recover our economy. Inclusion of Port-related exhibitory 119 will identify ways for the public to participate in the blue economy. 120 121 Labor, women and minority-owned business and apprenticeship programs: The 122 Aquarium's Ocean Pavilion will employ an estimated 1,583 people70 percent will be local 123 union jobs and the project exceeds Seattle's Community Workforce Agreement goals including 124 women- and minority-owned business hires and apprentice programs. The Port's ability to 125 potentially partner with job fairs will highlight future employment opportunities. 126 127 PROMOTING DIVERSITY, CULTURE, CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION: The 128 Seattle Aquarium aims to be inclusive and welcoming to all and believes its visitors should 129 reflect the diversity of our region, paying particular attention to ensuring access to underserved 130 communities and populations within our region. The expanded Aquarium will gain 35 percent 131 more space and an estimated 75 percent increase in attendance, which will dramatically expand 132 the conservation and ocean health programming that it annually delivers. 133 134 Collaboration with Coast Salish and Urban Indigenous Community: Design, 135 interpretation and public art for the Ocean Pavilion is being done in collaboration with local 136 Coast Salish tribes and native communities. The result of this important Indigenous 137 engagement is a direct influence on the building architecture, rooftop landscape and Order 2021-13 Partnership with Seattle Aquarium Re: Ocean Pavilion and Exhibit Page 3 of 4 138 interpretive design, interior guest experience exhibit program and public art. This work 139 includes the hiring of a Muckleshoot Tribal member as part of the landscape design team, 140 ongoing reviews and consulting from the Headwater People Consulting and the commissioning 141 by an all-Indigenous led selection panel of a Lummi glass artist for a public art portion of the 142 project. Members of the Suquamish and Muckleshoot tribes have also been engaged through 143 the development of the pavilion. 144 145 Expanding Conservation Education Programming: The Aquarium expects to see a 146 dramatic increase in its programming and reach due to increased attendance and revenue. 147 Annually, the Aquarium hosts more than 40,000 students from more than 500 schools, with 148 approximately 60 percent of classrooms receiving scholarships. The Aquarium also engages 149 more than thousands of volunteers who provide more than 100,000 hours of service having 150 community conversations, with a third of those hours committed by youth. 151 152 An Inclusive Aquarium for All: The Aquarium prioritizes providing inclusive programming 153 like 'Dream Night' which provides special events for children and adults with chronic illnesses 154 and/or disabilities, our Open House that features multicultural interpretation and materials 155 available in eight languages, and our Deaf Community Day with sign language interpreters 156 throughout the Aquarium. To make the Aquarium accessible to all, the Aquarium distributes 157 approximately 80,000 free tickets through 350+ regional human services agencies supporting 158 underserved and underrepresented communities annually. Examples of community partners 159 include East African Community Services; Refugee Women's Alliance; Latino Outdoors; 160 Chinese Information and Service Center; Seattle Indian Health Board, and many other diverse 161 organizations. 162 163 164 Order 2021-13 Partnership with Seattle Aquarium Re: Ocean Pavilion and Exhibit Page 4 of 4
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