A $14 million donation has been pledged in support of a proposed $70 million aquarium project being developed by the Brevard Zoo, Florida Today reports.

The gift from a family that has chosen to remain anonymous is in addition to an eight-year, $10 million commitment from Brevard County in support of the project, which would be developed on a fourteen-acre site at Port Canaveral, one of the busiest cruise ports in the world. The funds from the country would be generated through its 5 percent tourist development tax on hotel rooms and other short-term rentals. The port has signed a letter of intent with the zoo under which the port would provide $3.5 million in infrastructure improvements to the site where the aquarium would be built.

The proposed plan for the aquarium calls for 60,000 square feet of indoor exhibit space and 70,000 square feet of outdoor exhibit space, including a 40,000-square-foot water play area. The plan also calls for boardwalk and kayak access to the Banana River and a rooftop space that would offer views of cruise ships and rocket launches from nearby Cape Canaveral. Brevard Zoo executive director Keith Winsten told Florida Today the aquarium complex also would have a 15,000-square-foot "conservation hub," where researchers from Florida Tech, the University of Central Florida, and other universities would share collaborative workspaces and join forces with students and local residents to tackle Indian River Lagoon-related problems. 

Overall, officials hope to raise $20 million in private and corporate contributions, $20 million in public funding, and $30 million from financing based on future anticipated revenue streams.

(Image credit: Brevard Zoo)