When Manresa Wilds opens its first public space, visitors will reach it through an entrance off Longshore Avenue and walk into 28 acres of new forest at the north end of the island. The former Norwalk Harbor power plant isn't part of that first phase. Plans to reuse the turbine hall and administration building fall under a second phase targeted for 2032.
Until then, the way inside the plant is a guided tour run by the project itself, and the last listed date for this fall is Tuesday, Nov. 24. That leaves under two weeks from today to see the buildings as they stand now, before years of permitting, remediation and construction change them.
The tour window closes Nov. 24
Manresa Wilds is not open to the public. On its visit page, the project says access is restricted while stewardship and ecological work goes on, with scheduled visits as the exception. The main option is the Fall Building & Landscape Tour. It lasts 90 minutes and combines a guided walk through the power plant buildings with a UTV ride through the coastal grounds. Tours are listed from Sept. 5 through Nov. 24, 2026, at 1 Manresa Island Road, and require an RSVP.
The six-hour Photography Days, which run through Nov. 14, are marked full. The project directs people to the RSVP link in case of cancellations.
The tour has firm requirements:
- Visitors must be 18 or older and sign a liability waiver before entering.
- Closed-toe, laced shoes are required. Long pants and socks are recommended, and the project warns that conditions by the water can be breezy.
- The tour involves a lot of walking, stair climbing and uneven ground. The rooftop portion is optional.
- Restrooms on site are limited, and pets aren't allowed.
- Parking and check-in instructions arrive with the confirmation email.
Some changes have already happened. The island's three large oil tanks came down in 2025, according to the Norwalk Current. The central plant was left standing and is planned for adaptive reuse, not demolition.
What opens first is at the other end of the island
The first phase is the Northern Forest. On Oct. 30, the Norwalk Current reported that construction was 40% complete, with an opening targeted for late summer or early fall 2027.
The Current's reporter found dozens of workers on site on Oct. 29. They were building trails and the forest's three "pockets," which are a one-acre meadow, a small "coastal classroom" and a slightly larger gathering spot for small events. Recycled granite was stacked where the classroom is taking shape. Crews were also laying large water pipes near the main entrance. Orange fencing protects thousands of new plantings and many of the existing trees being kept. Invasive plants have been cleared in large numbers, and the three pockets sit where species like phragmites had grown thickest.
According to the project's Northern Forest page, the finished phase will have 1.15 miles of trails and an entrance off Longshore Avenue. The entrance will include up to 40 parking spaces, bus unloading, a Norwalk Transit District stop, bike racks, restrooms and water fountains.
That makes the first public version of Manresa a woodland walk, with the power plant out of reach. The plant interior that tour groups see this month will stay closed to the public after the forest opens.
The buildings wait for 2032
The full island covers 125 acres. In late October, Norwalk's Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special zoning district covering all of it. That approval settles which uses are allowed. It doesn't approve construction. Each phase still has to go back to the commission, and every phase needs a new traffic study as a condition of approval.
CT Insider's Oct. 23 report lays out the phases after the forest:
| Phase | What it includes | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Northern Forest | 28 acres of trails, a meadow, a coastal classroom and a gathering space | Targeted for late summer or early fall 2027 |
| 2. Buildings and landscape | Reuse of the turbine hall and administration building, wetland and cedar-swamp restoration, a pool and pavilion, nature-play areas | Targeted for 2032 |
| 3. Waterfront | Promenade, pier and play areas | Depends partly on a state DOT Walk Bridge easement |
| 4. Boiler building | Preservation and adaptive reuse of the boiler building | Later phase |
CT Insider puts completion of the whole project somewhere between 2032 and 2035.
Even a 2032 opening means permit work starts soon. Jessica Vonashek, executive director of Manresa Island Corp., told the Norwalk Current that the park will likely go before the commission again next year for a Coastal Site Plan review.
"All of that work needs to be done in advance of being able to open in 2032," Vonashek told the Norwalk Current. "So all of those permits need to be pulled in sequence much sooner in order to be able to give the runway for all of that work to happen before the doors of the building open and the larger landscape."
The cleanup follows its own schedule. Connecticut DEEP issued a stewardship permit on Dec. 31, 2025. The state's announcement says the permit covers environmental investigation, cleanup and ongoing obligations on the island. The project's remediation page calls containment the primary strategy, with some contaminants possibly removed. Vonashek told the Current that Manresa Wilds meets with DEEP twice a month.
Why the waterfront is a staging yard right now
The third phase depends on the Walk Bridge, and that connection is visible on the island today. Near the former power plant, the state Department of Transportation uses part of the property as a "laydown yard" for Walk Bridge construction materials. Two large cranes load the materials onto barges, which carry them across the harbor as needed, the Norwalk Current reported.
So the shoreline where a promenade and pier are planned is currently in use for the city's biggest rail project. CT Insider reports that the waterfront phase's timing depends partly on the DOT easement tied to that work. Visitors on this fall's UTV ride see the island during that overlap, with power plant buildings, coastal ground and bridge materials all on the same stretch of shore.
How visitors will reach the full park
Traffic was the main concern raised during more than 15 hours of public comment, and it shaped the approval. The Norwalk Current reports that park planners have been counting vehicles in the area for months. The plan once the larger park opens:
- Public parking will be capped at 200 of the 400 spaces on site, booked through a reservation system and app.
- Visitors will be encouraged to come by bus or water taxi.
- A circulator shuttle will connect the park to the Maritime Aquarium, overflow parking at the SoNo Collection, and the train stations.
The commission also capped events. The park can hold no more than four events a month with 151 to 400 guests, and no more than four events a year with more than 400.
"If the neighborhood has a traffic problem the park has a traffic problem," Vonashek told the Norwalk Current.
Who is behind it
Manresa Island Corp. is a nonprofit founded by Austin and Allison McChord, according to DEEP. The project's FAQ says the nonprofit owns and operates the site and will manage and maintain the park long-term. The McChords became interested in the property after kayaking around it in 2022. The initial estimated investment of $410 million for the full project comes from their charitable foundation, and park officials call it the largest privately funded environmental cleanup and publicly accessible park project in Connecticut history. SCAPE leads the landscape and park design. Bjarke Ingels Group leads the plan for the power plant buildings.
The research side is moving faster than the park. Manresa Wilds has signed memorandums of understanding with Sacred Heart University, Wesleyan University, the Norwalk Board of Education, the Maritime Aquarium and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Woods Hole is a partner in the park's Research and Education Station.
The Nov. 24 tour is the last listed chance this year to go inside the plant before the Northern Forest opens in 2027 and building work begins for 2032.
Projects like Manresa Wilds change how a part of Norwalk is used for decades, and following them closely is part of how Taylor Tait advises clients across lower Fairfield County. If you're wondering how waterfront projects like this one may affect your home's value over time, request a complimentary home valuation.
