09/20/2026
INDUSTRIAL PARK 3: AN UPDATE
We continue to explore whether a data center opportunity makes sense for Naugatuck. There is no project currently proposed, no one has made up their mind, and there is no predetermined decision. We are gathering information, listening to public concerns and determining whether an opportunity can meet Naugatuck’s strict environmental, technological and financial guardrails.
One important distinction: not every data center is an AI data center.
The massive AI facilities dominating national headlines can require enormous amounts of power, and the technology and its uses continue to evolve rapidly. But data centers have also served banks and other businesses for decades, providing secure cloud storage, backup, disaster recovery and data processing.
Our proximity to New York City may give Naugatuck a niche opportunity to attract a financial-services data center rather than a massive AI campus. That is the type of opportunity we want to explore.
OUR COMMITMENT: FUEL CELLS
Let me be very clear about power: if Naugatuck moves forward with a data center at Industrial Park 3, our plan is fuel-cell technology, not gas turbines and not electricity from the grid.
Fuel cells can provide quieter, cleaner and more efficient onsite generation, with significantly lower conventional air pollution and noise than combustion-based generation. Connecticut is also a leader in fuel-cell manufacturing, giving us the opportunity to potentially support Connecticut technology, Connecticut manufacturing and Connecticut jobs.
And we have experience with this technology. About six years ago, we installed fuel cells on this site to provide electricity to our Wastewater Treatment Plant, our largest municipal user of electricity. The project has been successful.
We already have a successful fuel-cell project under our belt.
STRICT ENVIRONMENTAL GUARDRAILS
Our requirements will be clear:
No electricity from the grid.
No water from the Naugatuck River.
Fuel-cell power.
Strict standards to minimize noise, emissions and neighborhood impacts.
These are not issues to address after approving a project. They are conditions a project would have to satisfy before it could move forward.
THE FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITY
Only about 50% of Industrial Park 3 would be considered for a potential data center.
Our financial requirements would also be substantial: a minimum of $14 million annually to Naugatuck and a sale price of not less than $10 million for that portion of the property.
Those are minimum requirements, not promises or projections. The economics and impacts would have to be carefully examined and verified before any decision.
Meanwhile, the other half of Industrial Park 3 remains available for our freight rail project, which is moving forward regardless. We plan to begin building rail infrastructure in 2027.
So this is not data center versus freight rail. It is the possibility of two major economic-development opportunities on the same property.
And we have time.
We don’t have to rush. We don’t have to lower our standards. Any data center has to work on Naugatuck’s terms environmentally, technologically and financially.
If it does, we consider it.
If it doesn’t, we walk away and expand freight rail or pursue other industrial opportunities.
Industrial Park 3 will be a cornerstone of Naugatuck’s financial future for the next 100 years.
We have to get it right. We will get it right.
Follow the facts. Keep an open mind. Stay involved. Then we decide
Read the article:
An update on Industrial Park 3: no project is proposed, no decision has been made, and any data center would have to meet Naugatuck's environmental, technological and financial guardrails.
