Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A project already two years in the making is finally nearing its halfway point with completion in Buffalo's West Side neighborhood.
WBEN was granted special access on Wednesday to check out the progress made, to this point, with the Ralph Wilson Centennial Park project on the grounds of, what was formerly known as, LaSalle Park. Developers with the project are in the final year of construction for the first phase of the project, with the second phase set to commence later this year.
"We're really excited to welcome the community back in about a year, summer of 2026," said Katie Campos, executive director of the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy. "This project started 7-to-8 years ago with the community design process, that took about five years. We're two years into construction, and have made just tremendous progress, as you can see from the South end."
Next year, it is expected for the pedestrian footbridge, that was put in place last October over the I-190, to open to the public, along with several pathways being laid down at the South end of the park.
"We've got some great crews out here, led by Gilbane construction, Union Concrete. We've got Scott Lawn and Yard, and they are wrapping up construction of the South end. So as they wrap up the shoreline, the inlet, you're going to see a lot of seeding," Campos noted. "About 1,000 trees have gone in this past year. The next work that we're going to see is Phase II underway. There we have the kayak launch, the dog park, the playground, and the full park we anticipate reopening to the public in late '27 or early '28."
At this time, Phase II of the project is currently in the RFP (Request For Proposal) process, with construction beginning sometime this fall.
Campos says the impact that this project is going to have will last generations to come for the people of Buffalo and Western New York.
"This is a once in a generation investment in Buffalo and in our public parks," she said. "From the community design process and Imagine LaSalle through the landscape architect, Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates, it's globally known. Just that kind of work that went into the design will attract visitors from all over the country.
"And then I think the work being done, the massive infrastructure investment, a park that used to be completely flat with not too many trees, now is a park with rolling hills up to 30 feet, a transformed one mile of shoreline, four times as many pathways, some of the nicest fields. All of that are these beautiful amenities, this beautiful Ralph Wilson Park bridge. But I think the thing that's really important is the infrastructure work. The elevation of the park, the shoreline transformation, the storm network underneath, these are the things that will keep this park resilient and maintained for generations. For our grandkids' grandkids. It's that kind of investment that was made in this park, that makes us a once in a generation investment."
While the final figures for the project are still to be determined, Campos believes this project being on over $200 million of investments.
"That's $200 million that the City of Buffalo has attracted to this project from federal grants and state grants, to private philanthropies like the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation," Campos added.
The Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy is set to have programming coming up soon to allow the community a chance to engage with the conservancy and see what's to come for the project.
"We have a beer launch and a short film about the shoreline transformation being launched on June 30 at Buffalo Brewing. We have our 'Splash Into Summer' event on July 6. There's still a bunch of ways that people can come down to the park and get involved in and have fun with us," Campos said.
