[3] Construction began on the attraction in August 2011 with a final cost approaching CA$130 million.

The federal government's Canada Lands Company contributed CA$10 million to the project to develop the "John Street Corridor" linking Front Street with the aquarium, the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre.

Prominent animal conservationist Bob Timmons has also publicly spoken out against Ripley Aquarium's capture of endangered tiger sharks.

The building features a multi-faceted shell clad in large aluminum panels, with the roof of the main entrance that "gives the illusion of the earth's crust peeling away to reveal a window into the aquatic world."

The building is located on Bremner Boulevard, to the east of the Rogers Centre, just south of the CN Tower and across the street from the Roundhouse Railway Museum.