New Haven committee advances plan to acquire contaminated English Station site for public park

The City of New Haven’s Community Development Committee voted Wednesday to advance a proposal that would give city staff authority to pursue acquisition — and, if necessary, eminent domain — of the former English Station power plant at 510 and 510A Grand Avenue, a polluted 8.6–8.9 acre island in the Mill River watershed. The move clears the way for further negotiations and for the city to seek the environmental protections needed before taking title.

City economic development officials and their consultants framed the acquisition as a necessary step to resolve a long-running cleanup dispute between United Illuminating (UI) and state regulators and to put the property to a public purpose. “This is an early phase,” Economic Development Administrator Michael Scatelli told the committee, urging members to consider the acquisition in the context of full remediation and neighborhood revitalization. Scatelli described the site as a peninsula suitable for active and passive recreation and said the city needs site control to demonstrate a clear reuse plan to state and federal regulators.

Deputy Chief of Staff Hailey Simpson and outside environmental counsel Beth Fortino outlined how the city would seek…