An economic study has found Kent County would be the best place in west Michigan

Zoo officials said in February 2021 they were considering building one and said last October they wanted to see what would be a better location between Kent County or Muskegon County. The zoo's CEO saying the research showed both communities offer "unique destination traits of lakeshore recreation versus urban core entertainment." The aquarium would create nearly 25-hundred jobs, generate over 231-million-dollars in state and local tax revenue in the first decade, and have a two-point-nine-billion net economic impact on Kent County over ten years.