A major change is coming to the Bridgeport skyline.

After 70 years, the iconic red-and-white smokestack towering over the city will come down, along with the surrounding PSEG power plant. On Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced that a private developer purchased the site and will redevelop it into waterfront homes, restaurants and stores.

It’s not exactly the welcome sign that Bridgeport – or Connecticut – wants visitors to see.

“This is like a dystopian hellscape that is finally coming down,” said Daniel O’Keefe, the state’s Community and Economic Development commissioner.

Driving down Interstate 95, you can’t miss the sprawling PSEG plant with its red-and-white coal tower. But now, its days are numbered. State and city leaders announced the site will be demolished and redeveloped over the next three years.

“You’re overlooking this incredibly beautiful harbor,” Lamont said. “It’s a short walk to the high school; it's a short walk to the train station. You’re going to have 400 units of housing there. You’ll have some nice waterfront restaurants.”

A private limited liability corporation called Bridgeport Station Development purchased the 33-acre facility this week. The group, based in upstate New York, is redeveloping a similar site near Ocean City, N.J., where they hope to build a hotel and marina.

Developers said neighbors will have a say in what happens in Bridgeport.

“We understand what this property means to the community and the neighborhood and that focus groups have been ongoing for many years,” said Chad Parks, with Bridgeport Station Development.

In the working-class neighborhood surrounding the old plant, neighbors say they are excited. But some say they are also nervous that they could get priced out of their homes.

“I can see medium- or low-cost residential,” said Tom Cunningham, who has lived a few blocks away for decades. “We have to draw people down here. This is a beautiful area."

Parks said developers haven’t committed to including affordable units yet, but Lamont said it’s a priority for him.

“We take that to heart and we make sure this is a community where people who work here can live here,” he said.

Bridgeport Station Development paid just $1 for the massive plant, but environmental remediation will cost tens of millions. Work begins this week on the building’s interior.

“We get this investigation done. That will tell us what’s in the ground underneath these structures,” said Katie Dykes, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “Once we have that information in hand, now the developer is going to assess what are the options for the development of the site.”

Developers are getting some help. Last fall, the state earmarked $22.5 million in Community Investment Fund dollars to help with remediation. DEEP said that considerable environmental study has already taken place at the plant.

Parks said it’s unclear if they will seek additional state funding for the project.

The PSEG plan was the last coal-fired power plant in New England when it shut down in 2021. It was replaced by a cleaner natural gas nearby.

Fans of the towering smokestack will get to see it for another two years before a public implosion. Parks said the group is open to potentially keeping it as part of a new development, depending on the cost and community input.

"We’re dedicated to hearing all voices as our plan takes shape,” he said.

Neighbors like Cunningham would like to see the stack stay – but he’s glad to see everything else go.

“Fifty years ago, we had shops and restaurants, liquor establishments,” he said. “And they all disappeared.”