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The What: Plans for Manresa Wilds Advance; Stamford Explores Grocery Store District; and more

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of October 26.

The What: Plans for Manresa Wilds Advance; Stamford Explores Grocery Store District; and more
Happy early Halloween! Enjoy the fun tricks and yummy treats. (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, October 26

Happy Monday! I cannot believe October is almost over. But hope you all enjoy your Halloween festivities this weekend.  

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

  • The Norwalk Planning and Zoning Commission officially gave the green light to the master plan for the Manresa Wilds project. 
  • In Stamford, the Legislative and Rules Committee will continue reviewing a proposal to establish an urban grocery store development district, which would provide a lower tax rate to eligible providers to encourage them to locate in a specific neighborhood.
  • In Norwalk, the Parking Authority will hear updates on the proposed residential parking program and the South Norwalk Train Station retail space. 

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

The vision for Manresa Wilds—transforming the 125-acre site of a decommissioned power plant into a public park, gathering space, and research center—is a step closer to reality this week. 

On October 21, the Norwalk Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve a special district for Manresa Wilds that provides a “zoning framework” for the property. The special district outlines what is allowed, what isn’t, and what conditions need to be met for certain items to come to fruition.

The vote comes after months of public hearings where residents shared both their support for the vision, and many concerns about its impact. 

The plans for Manresa Wilds were developed by Austin and Allison McChord, a billionaire philanthropist couple who purchased the property and have committed more than $400 million to help remediate it and bring this new vision to life.

“We founded Manresa Island Corp. to take responsibility for this site’s cleanup and create something enduring for Norwalk and the region,” Austin and Allison McChord said in a statement. “Thousands of people have helped shape Manresa Wilds over the past two years, and we’re grateful to the community and the Commission for the care they’ve brought to this process. This vote brings us one step closer to unlocking a remarkable stretch of Norwalk’s waterfront to the public again.”

Let’s explore the updated plans and timeline.

This Week at a Glance

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Featured Meeting: The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, October 26 at 6:15 p.m. and review an application to construct a four-story apartment building with 73 units.

Stamford

Featured Meetings: The Legislative and Rules Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 27 at 7 p.m. and continue reviewing the proposed ordinance to establish an urban grocery store development district. This district would provide a lower tax rate to eligible providers to encourage them to locate in this area. Also on Tuesday, October 27, the Planning Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. and review a request to provide $2.3 million in additional funding for the StamFORWARD microtransit program.

Norwalk

Featured Meeting: The Parking Authority will meet on Wednesday, October 28 at 6 p.m. and hear updates on the proposed residential parking program and the South Norwalk Train Station retail space. 

Fairfield

Featured Meetings: The Representative Town Meeting will meet on Monday, October 26 at 8 p.m. and vote on numerous items including an additional $1 million for the 2024 master flood prevention project; appropriating $4.9 million for evaluation and design costs associated with the Jennings Elementary School alterations and additions project; and creating a committee related to automated license plate readers in the town. On Tuesday, October 27, the Town Plan and Zoning Commission will meet at 6:30 p.m. and review a proposal to build a 140-unit community at 185 Thorpe Street. 

Greenwich

Featured Meeting: The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Tuesday, October 27 at 4 p.m. and review numerous applications including a proposal to convert an office building at 18 Valley Drive into 46 housing units, as well as a proposal from the Greenwich Academy to enhance its facilities on Glenville Road, which includes additional faculty housing, a classroom building, a squash center, and play area. 

Darien

Featured Meeting: The Board of Education will meet on Tuesday, October 27 at 7:30 p.m. to review the forecast for the 2027-2028 budget and proposed new courses for Darien High School.

Westport

Featured Meetings: The RTM Transit Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 27 at 6:30 p.m. and discuss establishing a working group to review the proposed Cribari Bridge project. Also on Tuesday, October 27, there will be a joint meeting of the RTM Finance, RTM Transit, RTM Public Protection, RTM Education, RTM Employee Compensation & RTM Public Works Committees at 7 p.m., where the committees will review appropriating $176,000 to funding a study for the Coleytown Elementary School project, which will compare building new vs. renovating the existing building. 

Stay in touch!

As we continue to grow and evolve, please join us! You can do that by:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times