Manresa Island Corp., the nonprofit that’s creating a 125-acre public park on the site of a former power plant on the Norwalk coastline, has committed $500,000 to a new research partnership.
The Research & Education Station at Manresa Wilds (R.E.S.A.) creates a consortium with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, Wesleyan University, Sacred Heart University and Norwalk Public Schools.
It will support research, education, public programming and workforce development related to the future park site, Manresa Wilds.
Manresa Island Corp. says the intent is to expand environmental learning and scientific research along Long Island Sound and cultivate a new generation of researchers and environmental stewards.
Ongoing initiatives include WHOI’s installation of water sensors in Norwalk Harbor, and Wesleyan University’s “Manresa Stories” oral history project to shoreline monitoring led by The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk with local students.
Sacred Heart University is contributing research and developing new marine science coursework focused on Long Island Sound.
Manresa Island is funded by local entrepreneur Austin McChord and his wife Allison, who have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the restoration of the site.
The first phase of the park, dubbed the Northern Forest, is slated to open next year. Landscaping, remediation and construction on the main site will begin in 2028, with additional phases opening from 2032.
The oil-burning power plant on the site, once owned and operated by NRG, closed in 2013 and the site has remained vacant since. The McChords purchased the land in 2024 with the idea of promoting public access to the Sound.
