Observation tower to rise from Camden waterfront

While Camden’s Adventure Aquarium is known for providing a peek deep into the ocean, a new attraction will bring visitors way up in the air.

When finished, the Skyview tower will be taller than Camden City Hall, carrying people 25 stories into the sky in a gondola for a panoramic view of the region hugging the Delaware River.

Private sources will fund the project, said Ed McDonnell, deputy director of the Camden County Board of Freeholders.

“Really, the best thing about it is it’s private investment, about $5 million. That makes it a real endorsement of the city,” McDonnell said. “The willingness of private investors to put money into the project, and that we can attract tourists and that the city is getting better not worse.”

Since the aquarium operation was taken over by a private company, it’s been doing very well, McDonnell said.

“The aquarium has had 8 million visitors since the Adventure Aquarium took over,” he said Thursday. “They are getting 800,000 to 900,000 visitors a year. They think 150,000 to 175,000 people a year will ride this gondola.”

After a massive foundation is constructed on the Camden waterfront, the tower will be shipped from England in pieces to be assembled on site.  If all goes well, the tower should be up and running its gondola by this time next year.