DETROIT (WWJ) -- This new, large-scale Detroit attraction is giving the Belle Isle Giant Slide a run for its money in the headlines this month.
Back in 2022, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy broke ground on Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park, and is currently aiming to complete the highly-anticipated public space by 2025.
Now, headway is being made on the project, which replaces West Riverfront Park at West Jefferson Ave and Rosa Parks Blvd with a 22-acre multi-use space featuring the William Davidson Sport House, a 2.5-acre Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden, the DTE Foundation Hill for outdoor events and programming, and an animal-themed playground.
But it’s the significant progress on the playscape — which will be known as the Delta Dental Play Garden — that has caught the attention of Detroiters this month, as the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy began constructing what will end up being a gigantic bear-shaped slide.
A panoramic video showing the 20-foot bear was posted via Detroit creator 3andathird on Instagram a few weeks ago, sparking curiosity and interest from local residents.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy also shared a video of the bear via Instagram on May 5, writing, “Crews were at the park last week carefully assembling this centerpiece of the Delta Dental Play Garden. This giant bear will have lots of friends surrounding him for kids to play on and enjoy for hours.”
The animal-themed play garden comes courtesy of a $5 million donation from Delta Dental, and will also feature an otter-shaped slide and a beaver, which can be spotted in the latest photos of the park shared this week.
Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and the Danish firm Monstrum, the play equipment was conceptualized alongside Detroit elementary school students, who lent their own ideas and creativity to the project.
The new park — named for the late Detroit entrepreneur and philanthropist Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. — is expected to boast a total price tag of about $75 million. Back in 2019, Wilson’s foundation provided with city of Detroit with a $40 million capital investment for the project, as well as a $10 million endowment upon its completion.
“In just a couple of years, our riverfront will achieve true world-class status when the new Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park opens with its incredible amenities and physical features,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement in 2022. “Even better is the fact that it will connect to the Joe Louis Greenway, giving residents in neighborhoods across the city direct access to this extraordinary new park.”
The Detroit Riverwalk, which stretches from Rosa Parks Blvd to the Belle Isle Bridge, was voted the best riverwalk in the country in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards from 2021 through 2023.