The generation gap is opening up a shift in wealth. Over the next two decades, $124 trillion will change hands from baby boomers to millennials, Gen Z, and even Gen X, according to Cerulli Associates.
And for some millennials—a generation raised on climate anxiety, economic instability, and a search for meaningful work—it’s about redefining what it means to own land and how real estate can serve the public good.
“The first time we came across Manresa was by kayak. As we paddled along the shoreline, we saw the marshes, the circling osprey, and the extraordinary power plant rising behind them,” Austin and Allison McChord told Realtor.com®.
Once home to a power plant, Manresa Island in Norwalk, CT, stood as a symbol of the city’s industrial past, but the island had been closed off from the public for decades.
Plans were already underway to redevelop Manresa Island into luxury waterfront housing. But when the young couple came across the site by kayak, they saw a rare opportunity to create a public space rooted in nature, access, and community.
“We identified an opportunity to do something very different: to reclaim the waterfront for the community and create a public space that could benefit everyone,” said the McChords.
Their vision for Manresa Wilds, now in the early phases of development, is strikingly ambitious.
Rather than maximizing private value, the couple are investing in the transformation of the island into a publicly accessible park that blends restored ecosystems with educational spaces, gathering areas, and walking trails through the forest and along the water.
Their wealth comes from a startup founded by Austin. He sold Datto, a cybersecurity company, for about $1.5 billion in 2017.
“Our hope is that Manresa Wilds becomes a place for everyone, an ‘island for all,’” they explained. “We want it to feel alive in every season, with trails through the forest, places to gather, and opportunities to connect with the water.”
The couple also plan to transform the old power plant itself into a community hub, offering classrooms, event space, and programming tied to environmental education and regional history. They hope to bring new life to the property with intentionality and purpose.
“We see the park as a gift to Norwalk that belongs to the community, but also a model for the transformation of other disused, polluted industrial sites into treasured community assets,” they said.
Investing with a purpose
Projects like Manresa Wilds are more than one-off passion projects—they’re a sign of how generational values are beginning to surface in real estate development.
For millennials, the incoming stewards of tens of trillions in inherited wealth and property, ownership increasingly comes with a sense of responsibility.
Many are more interested in sustainable, walkable, and publicly beneficial land uses than in conventional, high-return investments.
Austin McChord’s ties to Norwalk run deep. He grew up nearby, launched his business from his parents’ basement in the area, and returned with his partner to raise their family close to home. That personal history shaped their sense of stewardship.
“This community has shaped who we are, and we’ve always believed that giving back should start close to home,” the couple said. “The chance to take a site that once produced pollution and turn it into a place that restores the environment and connects communities is deeply meaningful to us.”
While many observers focus on the financial scale of the Great Wealth Transfer, it’s the mindset shift that may prove more transformative for cities.
Millennials are more likely than previous generations to see property as a tool for impact, and that sentiment is increasingly shaping real estate.
“Investing in public space is investing in community,” the McChords said. “To be able to impact a kid’s life and create core memories or be the site where cutting-edge research could take place is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives.”
The McChords said the response from the community has been enthusiastic. Thousands of residents have participated in meetings, surveys, and on-site tours.
People have shared ideas and voiced concerns, and the couple have responded by incorporating that feedback into the evolving design of the park.
“We’ve been blown away by the overwhelming positive and supportive feedback,” they said. “We have been committed since Day 1 to hearing people’s ideas and hopes for the park to help shape the final design of the park, so this will be a true asset to the community.”
As millennials gain access to property—whether through inheritance or acquisition—they are pushing back against legacy development patterns and asking how land can serve something greater.
Manresa Island may soon stand as a model for how disused industrial land can be transformed not for exclusivity, but for belonging.
“This is the most valuable investment of our time and energy that we can imagine,” the couple said. “We hope that other people with the means to do something similar will be inspired to invest back into their communities.”
