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 U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, fourth from left, discusses the importance of restoring the decaying wooden bulkhead off Water Street during a tour of the West River area of New Haven Harbor June 4. Joining DeLauro, from left, are Willie C. Taylor, regional director of the U.S. Economic Development Administration, Bilco Co. Vice President Roger Joyce, Eileen Buckheit, commissioner of the city Department of Planning and Development, and Mayor John M. Picard.
By MICHAEL P. WALSH ~ Public Relations Information Coordinator
Federal officials toured the West River area of New Haven Harbor on June 4 to discuss the decaying seawall there and the feasibility of rebuilding the wooden bulkhead, which city officials say would jump-start an ambitious development project that has been on the drawing board for more than a decade.
During a presentation on the West River Crossing bulkhead project, Mayor John M. Picard said repairing the 1,400-foot seawall off Water Street is crucial to stopping erosion, controlling pollution, spurring economic development and creating jobs.
U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, and Economic Development Administration Regional Director Willie C. Taylor echoed Picard’s assessment, saying replacing the seawall, which was built in the late 1920s, is vital to the area’s economic development efforts.
DeLauro and Taylor made several stops in the region, including Naugatuck and New Haven, to discuss potential Economic Development Administration projects.
 Taylor talks about the benefits of the bulkhead project as it relates to transforming the surrounding area, a designated brownfield by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, into commercially viable property, as DeLauro, Joyce and Picard look on.
City officials are working with DeLauro to secure the estimated $1.8 million needed to finance the bulkhead project.
The city has applied for a grant from the EDA to pay half. The other half would come from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
The eroded seawall, left, once held back land from washing into New Haven Harbor along this stretch of the West River.
Reconstructing the seawall, which is meant to keep land from washing into New Haven Harbor, is a necessary step in preparing the waterfront property for development as part of the proposed West River Crossing project.
The city is working with neighboring municipalities to maximize the regional impact of the West River Crossing development, which was launched in 1997. The key shoreline parcel is part of a Municipal Development Plan that was approved by the state in 2004.
Although it has long been in disrepair, the bulkhead was severely damaged in an April 2007 nor’easter that accelerated the erosion.
The city only plans to shore up a short section of the seawall that sits off the city-owned 10 Water St. property. To repair the entire bulkhead would cost too much, said Eileen Buckheit, the city’s commissioner of planning and development.
The city already has permits for the area from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The property surrounding the bulkhead project is a designated brownfield by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The city has received federal grants to clean up the contaminated property.
 An architectural rendering of the West River Crossing conceptual plan by the Yale Urban Design Workshop illustrates a waterfront hub with a marina, restaurants, condominiums, stores, venues for passive recreation, including a seaside walkway, as well as a hotel and sports complex.
The city’s vision for the West River Crossing area includes a possible marina, restaurants, condominiums, stores, venues for passive recreation, including a seaside walkway, as well as a hotel and sports complex.
Plans also call for an anchor business, The Bilco Co., a Water Street institution since 1952, which would move from its aging headquarters into a new building to be constructed on the site, keeping jobs in West Haven.
About a year ago, the city demolished the final building at the old Connecticut Refining Co. site at 105 Water St., a step toward its goal of making 15 to 20 acres ready for development.
The city owns about 4.5 acres and hopes to acquire more land as it becomes available. The rest of the property is owned by Bilco.
(City Photos/Michael P. Walsh)
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