[VIDEO BELOW: The McChords discuss transformation plan.]
With the hulking mass of a decommissioned and much derided power plant behind them, Austin and Allison McChord Tuesday detailed their plans to transform it and the surrounding 125 acres of Manresa Island into a public park and marine research facility for Norwalk.
“Parks like this don’t exist in Connecticut,” McChord told an audience of enthusiastic supporters, “and we’re so excited to create it.”
McChord and his wife, Allison, intend to purchase Manresa Island this fall from a developer who had planned to build single-family homes on it.
The purchase will be made through a philanthropic entity the McChords created, Manresa Island Corp., which will fund and manage the publicly-accessible park in perpetuity, according to a press release.
The McChords did not disclose the purchase price. (The New York Times quoted an unidentified “person close to the project” as saying it would cost $40 million. Cleanup costs could reach $80 million.)
At the announcement event on the grounds of the proposed park, Austin McChord, a Norwalk tech entrepreneur, told assembled politicians, press, and people associated with the project: “We understand that this is the beginning of a long journey ahead, but we’re committed to go the distance.”
Allison McChord said the journey began a few year ago when she and Austin were kayaking around Manresa and said to each other, someone should make this an amazing park.
“We were totally blown away by the diversity, the scale of the power plant, the views along the shoreline,” Allison said. “With nearly two miles of new waterfront, we’re creating an asset that we hope will last for generation. As nature lovers, we’re excited to see kids explore the shoreline, families make lasting memories, and individuals find peace and inspiration here.”
The plant, which initially burned coal and later converted to oil, was one of the so-called “Sooty Six,” state Sen. Bob Duff (D-25th Dist.) noted in his remarks, It was one of six power plants in the state criticized for emitting soot and noxious fumes into the atmosphere.
The plant, which was rated to produced 160 megawatts of electricity, closed in 2013.
“It’s really not an understatement to say that transforming Manresa Island into a beautiful, publicly-accessible park is a game-changer for Norwalk and the region at large,” Duff said.
The McChords are giving this island a second life, observed Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Through their investment, this project will be a symbol of what we can do to reclaim our natural resources when man has done so much to destroy them.
“Manresa Island will once again be a pristine treasure,” Blumenthal forecast.
The McChords have tapped former City Hall official Jessica Vonashek to be executive director of the Manresa non-profit.
Vonashek told the audience the plant includes a building with around 20,000 square feet of office space that will be made available to local and national institutions that partner to conduct marine and environmental research and development. The Norwalk Maritime Aquarium is the first institution to become a partner.
“We see it as a living laboratory and a living classroom,” Vonashek said. “There is so much opportunity to welcome younger folks to be able to learn about tidal pools and restoration and remediation and how wetlands work and all the natural species we have in the state of Connecticut.”
The park is being designed by SCAPE, a landscape architecture and urban design firm headquartered in New York.
According to a news release, SCAPE intends to create a healthy public space with water access, public swimming, and recreational and ecological experiences.
Remediation strategies will revive Manresa’s coastal ecosystems, ensuring the site is as resilient as possible, it says.
The design of the repurposed building is being handled by Bjarke Ingels Group, an international architectural firm.
A description on their website for Manresa says that, through adaptive reuse, the 250,000 square foot structure will be reimagined into event spaces, educational and research facilities, and play areas.
Austin McChord, who grew up in Norwalk, founded Datto, a cybersecurity and data backup company. He sold it to Vista Equity Partners for $1.3 billion in 2017.
(McChord has been a financial supporter of NancyOnNorwalk.)
Manresa Island juts out into Long Island Sound as a peninsula off of Longshore Ave. in South Norwalk. Parts of it are heavily wooded. It supports a variety of wildlife, including at least one deer that walked past the building during Tuesday’s announcement.
Part of the park is projected to open in 2030.
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