The 14,000 m2 (150,000 sq ft) development was opened in 1999, and includes restaurants, bars, cafes and shops.

Part of the British Government's Urban Development Programme to regenerate deprived and run-down inner city areas.

The collection was saved, but the majority remains in storage at Nant Garw[2] with only a limited few items on display at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.

Construction of the barrage, one of the largest engineering projects in Europe, has turned Cardiff Bay into a 500-acre (2.0 km2) freshwater lake with 8 miles (13 km) of waterfront.

Cardiff Bay and Mermaid Quay have provided the backdrop for numerous episodes of programmes, such as the BBC’s science fiction drama series Doctor Who and Torchwood, with the fictional entrances (now decorated as Ianto's Shrine) to the underground Torchwood 3 Institute located in Roald Dahl Plass.