December 29, 2011 - Thanks to numerous generous end-of-year tax-deductible donations to our Building Fund in the 4th quarter of 2011, including a $12,000 gift from Nick and Tessa Cavelletto of Chowchilla, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) Aquarius Aquarium Institute has now raised enough to pay for the engineering and a complete set of plans to be created by Bob Parrish of Parrish Hansen, Incorporated for our Phase One Fresno Aquarium building designed by architect Arthur Dyson, AIA.

Mr. and Mrs. Cavelletto have been long-time supporters of Aquarius Aquarium Institute and were also donors to our first Capital Campaign - The Campaign for Special Gifts - which raised funds for us to secure the necessary land use approvals from the County and City of Fresno as well as LAFCo in 2009.

In July 2011, we publicly announced our plans to start the Fresno Aquarium campus with a Phase One building when we launched this website. We are still planning to build the original design by Mr. Dyson as Phase Two on our 10-acre property we own free-and-clear adjacent to Highway 99 overlooking the San Joaquin River at the northern entrance to Fresno.

As was the direction of our board of directors, the two buildings have been designed to complement one another architecturally.

The Fresno Aquarium project still needs substantial support before construction may begin, but this important step represents yet another milestone in the development of this educational facility that will benefit the entire San Joaquin Valley.