For more than 60 years…they’ve come here. Families. Divers. Dreamers.
Almost a half a million visitors a year, drawn to something just offshore. America’s first undersea park…and the only living barrier reef in North America.
On Earth Day, that legacy moved forward in the Florida Keys at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.
With shovels in the sand, a $52 million vision took shape. A new Discovery Center and Aquarium designed to bring the reef to life…before you ever get in the water.
When it opens in the fall of 2028, seven tanks totaling 43,000 gallons will anchor the facility. The centerpiece: a 23,000-gallon tank devoted entirely to Florida’s Coral Reef, the only living coral barrier reef along the coast of North America.
For Monroe County, the project carries both economic weight and environmental significance. And according to the County’s Tourist Development Council, it will help fuel the tourism economy.
“John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park isn’t just one of the crown jewels of the state park system,” said Kara Franker, President & CEO of Visit Florida Keys. “It is an economic engine for Monroe County. When you have almost half a million visitors coming through here, you know what they also do? They stay in our hotels, they eat at our restaurants, they patronize our businesses.”
In the weeks leading up to this groundbreaking, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council committed $2 million to the project. A meaningful investment in a place that has given so much to this community.
A commitment to ensure that this living legacy…endures for generations to come.
“$52 million is what we’re going into this project. And it’s that important to us. This will be the gateway to the Keys for the state parks,” said Chuck Hatcher, Director, Florida State Parks.
John D. Pennekamp, a journalist and conservationist, helped protect these waters in the 1950s, long before most people understood what was at stake.
And on this Earth Day…his legacy lived on in three generations of the Pennekamp family. A full-circle moment…at the place that bears his name.
“Decades ago, my grandfather took me, along with some of my siblings here, to introduce the park to me for the very first time,” said Tom Pennekamp, Vice President of the Florida State Parks Foundation and the grandson of the park’s namesake. “He walked up to a park ranger and says, ‘I’m here to show off my park to my grandchildren.’ I remember the very proud face he had that day. And I think I probably had that same proud face on me today as well.”
The popular park was the first undersea park in the United States. Its reef stretches more than 350 miles from the Florida Keys north to St. Lucie Inlet, and supports a tourism economy built on snorkeling, diving, and boat tours. The new center will add storm simulators showing how mangroves protect the coastline, a shipwreck display, interactive exhibits, and wildlife encounters with native marine species. Mote Marine Laboratory, which has restored more than 200,000 corals to Florida’s reef, will also grow corals on site within the facility.
The Discovery Center and Aquarium is on track to open in the fall 2028. The park will remain open while construction is underway.
A reef that stretches more than 350 miles. A park that helped define conservation in America. Now reimagined for the next generation. And a mission that stays the same. Protect what’s beneath the surface. Inspire those above it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
