Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy changes leadership as park readies for partial 2027 opening

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - As construction continues for the Ralph Wilson Centennial Park, formerly LaSalle Park, on Buffalo's Lower West Side, the organization overseeing the operations of the park after its completion announced a change of leadership on Monday with Crystal Selk as the new executive director.

Selk takes over the role of executive director from Katie Campos, who was named the first executive director of the Conservancy after it was formed before ground broke for the project.

"Our mandate at the Conservancy is clear: We are here to create a space that is inclusive, accessible, safe and fun for the whole community. Even in the first couple of weeks since I've been here, every time I walk through the park, I notice something else that somebody is going to love. There is something for everybody here," said Selk during her introductory press conference Monday at the park.

While a large portion of the park is in its final stages of preparation for a partial opening next spring, work remains ongoing with the "iconic" piece of Ralph Wilson Park taking shape: The lake freighter.

"It is a full, all-inclusive general playground. This is where this project started," said Stephen Buccilli, interim parks commissioner for the City of Buffalo. "It brought the Lower West Side here together, to bring back our West Side baseball, bring in more groups, more things from our fields, our lighting, and our experience. This was a thriving and still is a thriving park that we're looking to build on.

"Three zones we have ongoing here: The bow, mid-deck, and the stern. Each one has its own little feel that you can see. You can get up on the captain's bridge up top, look over the lake and into the city, great views of our waterfront. In the middle, it's more inclusive - climbing, cargo nets, other ways to experience the playground equipment. And then in our back, in the stern, is our sensory play. There will be slides, we're actually going to have a tree growing there for shade."

With the park still in a construction phase, Buccilli says there's a temporary fence that will be in place to allow parkgoers to enjoy the open space, while also getting a glimpse of what's to come.

"Our goal is to open up as much of this park as possible for the spring of 2027. That will probably be the fields, the bridge, and the Southern area. This allows us to continue construction on the play garden and our shoreline, which will probably extend into the end of 2027, potentially into '28," Buccilli said.

Before parts of the park open for next spring, Buccilli says preparations are already underway to keep the park as in tact as possible with winter soon on the horizon.

"With our construction manager Gilbane, we have our landscape contractors out here staking, adjusting trees on a weekly basis," he noted. "Lake seiches, we've experienced this with our inlet area of debris coming in. This year, we have a boom that is in place to mitigate that, to try and offset some of these costs. Again, this is right on the lake. Working with our landscape architects, we have topography here. One of the things that we've done here is move the flood elevation out towards the break wall, in essence, to protect our Colonel Ward treatment facility and the residents at the Southern end. So we're trying to use our design, based on location, for the best usage of our space here with the city."