By Olivia Van Norman
Staff Writer
The Harrison Greenberg Foundation founded by Skechers Chief Executive Officer Michael Greenberg donated $1.25 million on Mar. 2 towards plans for renovating the Manhattan Beach Roundhouse Aquarium.
Oceanography and Teaching Stations (OTS) Board President Lynne Gross and MB Mayor Mark Burton contributed to this plan by assisting with the planning of the new aquarium. The OTS leases the aquarium from the city and runs it.
“Harrison was fascinated by the ocean and the sea life that he experienced over the years from just a little boy to growing up into a young man,” Greenberg said. “The ocean touched Harrison and Manhattan Beach touched Harrison. I think that if I could ask him what was important to him, he’d certainly highlight the Roundhouse as being one of the most memorable little family activities that we shared together.”
According to Gross, this will benefit the aquarium because it’s last upgrade was in 2000. Prior to the Greenberg foundation, the aquarium was planning on spending $150,000 on repairs. These plans were put on hold once the plans for the renovations were made. The project is estimated to cost about $2.5 million.
“The renovation will hopefully bring in more visitors,” Gross said. “However, we already have almost 300,000 visits a year so that is not a major objective. We primsrily interested in making this a better experience for the people who already come.”
Official designs have not been finalized. According to Greenberg, once the design is confirmed he will work to raise more money towards the renovations and is hoping for the new interior to be completed by fall 2017.
“I want visitors to not only leave with more knowledge of marine life, but to walk away with great memories like Harrison and our family shared together.” Greenberg said.
The new plans were the ideas of Greenberg, OTS, and the city. According to Greenberg, that the renovations will have a serious and positive effect on visits to the Roundhouse and he hopes visitors will be as impacted as his family was by the aquarium.
“Thousands of people visit the aquarium every year and even though it isn’t a large aquarium it has a lasting impact on people,” Greenberg said. “OTS has many educational programs and camps that benefit local and inner city children. I hope that this will renovation will enhance the experience for children and their families.”
According to Gross, since the announcement of the upgrade there have been a decrease in donations from the public. The aquarium is a non-profit and has a budget of $300,000 a year. However, the money is only for keeping the aquarium running, not the reconstruction.
“This donation from the Greenberg Foundation is only for the facility,” Gross said. “It can not be used to pay our staff, feed the fish or operate the formal teaching program we have for 15,000 students a year from all of Los Angeles County. We get support for that from community donations so we need the community to continue to support us.”
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