$5M Boosts Mill River’s Possible Futures

To revitalize a neighborhood known for its warehouses and abandoned factories, focus on nature.

Residents and business owners offered that advice to city officials planning a more walkable, community-oriented Mill River district.

The city is drafting new policy and development goals for the neighborhood, an industrial stretch of New Haven connecting Wooster Square, Upper State Street, and Fair Haven. 

The planning process is funded by a $5 million state grant that can also be used for property acquisitions. This funding coincides with an infusion of state funding for improvements to Grand Avenue as a business corridor.

On city maps, the Mill River district is bounded by I‑95 and I‑91 on the west and an L‑shaped sliver of Fair Haven from James to River Streets on the east. It’s marked by historic factories like the old Clock Shop, now eyed as a possible Housing Authority apartment complex, and English Station. It’s also home to current industrial businesses like Grand Paint and Bender.

Approximately 15 city officials — including Mayor Justin Elicker, Economic Development Administrator Mike Piscitelli, Deputy Economic Development Administrator Carlos Eyzaguirre, and several alders, among others — gathered at John S. Martinez School on Wednesday evening to solicit input on how to revitalize the Mill River district. About 15 residents and business leaders from the Mill River and Fair Haven areas also attended.

The city last created a Mill River development plan in 2013. At the time, officials focused on how to embrace and spur industrial growth in the area, especially supporting an existing hub of home improvement companies. 

“It was a different time, as far as the housing market,” said Eyzaguirre. Now the city hopes to integrate existing industrial businesses with a vision for a more vibrant residential community in the area.

The Mill River currently feels like ​“the end point of all of the nearby neighborhoods,” said Economic Development Officer Malachi Bridges, who had secured the $5 million state grant. ​“We are trying to make sure it’s the center of those neighborhoods.”

A consultant, Colliers Engineering and Design, has identified potential focal points for development — including intersections along Grand, East, Chapel, and James; some properties on River Street; and an expansion of the Mill River Trail. Colliers drew up renderings featuring mixed-use developments and a waterfront park by the river.

Attendees of Wednesday’s meeting were asked to provide feedback and input on the company’s suggestions by marking up printed-out maps of the neighborhood. 

Many focused on how the Mill River Trail and other areas surrounding the neighborhood’s namesake river could be enhanced.

At one table, Erick Gonzalez, manager of the Grand Avenue Special Services District, suggested a waterfront plaza amenable to movie screenings or dancing. ​“We have some places that do Zumba” in the neighborhood, he said.

“I would love kayaking,” said Bridges. Boating or water sport infrastructure could connect the Quinnipiac River with the Mill River, he added.

Rosa, who works at the local water pump company Industrial Flow Solutions and declined to provide her last name, focused on the Mill River Trail. The entry points to the trail could be further enhanced, she proposed. ​“They’re not well marked. You walk down and you’re like, ​‘Where am I?’ ”

“Is there anything for signage in Spanish?” asked Gonzalez.

They jotted these suggestions down.

Laverne Oliver suggested a pet park for the area, drawing inspiration from the Wooster Square dog park. 

“That would be so fun!” said Christina Griffin, who wrote Oliver’s idea on a sticky note.

No one proposed any specific visions for the old English Station power plant, the subject of a long city and state battle with the site’s former owner United Illuminating over its deterioration. But Bridges had a suggestion for a potential flood wall to be built around the old plant: ​“Have it be a destination.” Couples could leave locks on the gate memorializing their love — ​“like Italy,” Bridges surmised. ​“Corny, but cute.”

Other suggestions included reviving underpasses beneath the highways with murals and parks; focusing on routes that kids might take to and from schools such as Wilbur Cross and Fair Haven School; supporting ice cream trucks and street food vendors; and, as J.R. Logan put it, ​“not wanting to see self-storage.”