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October 12, 2022

New Haven’s Long Wharf vision anchored by flood-proofing projects

Image | New Haven Development Commission A map of New Haven's Long Wharf district illustrating two infrastructure projects designed to fight flooding.
By Liese Klein

New Haven city officials gave new details on their vision for the city’s waterfront Long Wharf District on Wednesday, plans shored up by grant-funded infrastructure projects designed to fight the effects of climate change.

Planners and engineers outlined their plans at the regular meeting of the New Haven Development Commission on Wednesday morning, looking toward a future Long Wharf with more housing and economic activity. 

Undergirding the new district will be two major infrastructure projects to prevent flooding in case of sea level rise, storms and heavy rains. 

Both funded, the projects consist of a $35 million sewer tunnel to be built 45 feet underground to carry flood water from inland areas out to the harbor, and a flood wall, pump station and flood gates to be built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The city is also applying for two new grants to bolster Long Wharf infrastructure, said Senior Project Planner Donna Hall. With $1.6 million from the federal Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities grant program, New Haven hopes to build a greenway, bike paths and public transit routes to link Long Wharf to nearby neighborhoods. 

“We were very excited because we felt like this project could be a very good fit,” Hall said, citing Long Wharf’s isolation from the rest of the city due to major highways and rail lines. 

With a $4 million grant from the state, the city plans to re-align and raise Long Wharf Drive to support residential and commercial development in the area. 

Planners focused on the new infrastructure’s importance for the future potential of the Harbor section of the district, 57 acres now home to a tank farm, Sports Haven, the Long Wharf Maritime Center office building and a new restaurant, Il Gabbiano. 

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said, “I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about this project that is transformational and also sets the infrastructure up first for the success of the district.” 

A centerpiece of the vision for the Harbor section, developer Fusco Corp.’s plan for a 500-unit apartment complex at 501 Long Wharf Drive, was repeatedly mentioned by planners. The Board of Alders approved the proposed project enthusiastically last November. 

Of Fusco, Economic Development Officer Dean Mack said, “They share our vision of really trying to redevelop this area into something beyond what it is right now, which is industrially focused, and turning it into really a mixed-use development and eventually a mixed-use neighborhood.”

New Haven Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli said that he would check in with Fusco on the status of the residential project, seemingly on long-term hold due to flooding concerns. A new restaurant also opened in May on a key part of the site, the former home of Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale.

As part of their  vision for a mixed-use Long Wharf, city lawmakers earlier this year approved a year-long moratorium on new construction in the area to allow for rezoning in line with redevelopment plans.

One project that squeaked in before the moratorium – a parking lot for semi trucks proposed for the current Sports Haven site on Long Wharf Drive – is set to be considered at the Nov. 2 meeting of the city plan commission.

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.

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