Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Back in July, ground officially broke to commence the transformation of LaSalle Park into the new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park. This kicked off Phase 1 of the project that will see a total of $110 million worth of improvements go into the park.
Work to improve the park is going to take place in phases over the next several years, as construction has been underway since the late summer months. However, the next level of extensive work to the park is set to begin, with the hopes of getting as much completed before the weather changes over to the harsh winter conditions.
"People are going to see trees start to be removed from the park, the signage that explains what we're doing is already up in the park. People are going to start to see some of that activity," said Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for the City of Buffalo, Andy Rabb. "Winter kind of slows us down a little bit for major construction. We expect most mobilization, and really the staging and all that stuff to happen as soon as weather allows for it in the spring. So it's really going to be dependent on Mother Nature, but people will start to see some of that site work take place this fall."
The first phase of work at LaSalle Park is slated to be done sometime in either 2024 or 2025, but the second phase of this project is set to get underway sometime after the initial phase.
Overall, it is expected to be a four-year construction period to bring Ralph Wilson Centennial Park to life. Once the project is complete, though, Rabb says it will have the potential to completely transform the city's waterfront and connection to people.
"We're really excited about this project, because it was developed with people from Buffalo," he said. "This was truly a project dedicated from the very beginning to reaching out and finding out what people wanted to see in their park, and then actually being able to implement it. So this is very exciting for us."
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Once the Ralph Wilson Centennial Park is complete, Rabb feels it will be a park unlike any other that already exists in the City of Buffalo.
"We're going to have a completely rethought shoreline, we're going to have a play garden that doesn't exist anywhere else in this area, we're going to have updated athletic facilities, a new bridge. We're going to have paths and trails through the park, a network of those that doesn't currently exist right now, along with a sustainable partnership with the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy so that what we do build isn't just good for five years, but is good for 50 years," Rabb explained. "This is a really exciting project all the way around."
While Ralph Wilson Centennial Park may not be a park that can serve as a place to host larger events for the City of Buffalo, Rabb says it will be built to be programmed for a number of events for all seasons in Western New York.
"The Pavilion is going to stay, it's just going to be updated. There's going to be the grand sledding hill, which also could be used for events. At the bottom, the bathroom buildings are going to be year-round, so it'll be programmed not just in the summertime, but also in the wintertime, which is a big thing that's going on here," he explained. "Just the fact that we'll have year-round bathroom facilities in the park is a big thing all on its own."
With the work set to also go into the Lake Erie shoreline at the park, Rabb believes it will transform the way Buffalo is accessed via water.
"The kayak launch for the Buffalo Blueway site that we're working with Buffalo Niagara Waterkeepers on as part of the project is a big thing. The ecologic benefit that this park is going to have by restoring some type of natural shoreline to Lake Erie is another big thing," Rabb said. "We're hitting a lot of different points with this project, and it's been a real comprehensive process to get to this point. We're just excited that now we're actually physically building it."
For anyone looking for more information with what's to come with the park and updates on construction, they can go to the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy's website.