Ralph Wilson Park is a 100+-acre waterfront park on the shoreline of Lake Erie in downtown Buffalo. Rooted in a multi-year community visioning process, the park is undergoing a $110M transformation to become one of the most beautiful and inclusive public spaces in the country, serving nearby residents and visitors from across the region and beyond. Construction is expected to continue through 2025.
What Will Be Happening At The Park This Summer? (Shared on April 6)
From Katie Campos, RWPC Executive Director, on April 6, 2023:
Construction on our park will begin in earnest this summer, and we want to make sure our community is aware of what is going on. We also want to share the cool science behind the park design decisions.
The park will be an active (and massive) construction site. Safety is of the utmost importance during this process, and we are working in partnership with the City of Buffalo to communicate what will be accessible and what will be closed off during construction. We want to keep everyone safe and informed while this major infrastructure project is underway.
Quite a bit of the park will still be open, and we hope you take advantage of it! The pool, splash pad, skatepark, football field and a temporary dog park will be open this summer. You’ll notice that the skatepark is actively being used, and we look forward to cooling off in the pool and splashpad this summer! In fact, we just rented the shelter by the splashpad to celebrate my kids 2nd birthday! You can rent a shelter through the City of Buffalo here.
It is important to note that one of the main drivers behind transforming the park is that it was deteriorating. Storms have become more intense with climate change– seiche events are more severe and much more of the park floods with each storm. Unfortunately, the blizzard this past December wreaked further damage on the park – leaving in its wake sinkholes six-feet in diameter and severely damaged paths and breaks in the guard rails along the sea wall.
Gilbane, the site Construction Manager, will begin its work this spring. The park will be a massive construction site, and much of it will be closed to ensure public safety — the park promenade and everything south of the football field parking lot will be closed to the public. Gilbane will be posting a detour for the Empire State/Shoreline Trail in the coming weeks, which we will share.
Over the next few weeks, Gilbane will be selecting companies to begin work on Phase 1 of the park. As their work schedules are confirmed, we will have a better sense of what that construction will look like, and we look forward to sharing that with you. We know that it is important for park users to understand what is going on, and we think the story behind the work is a fascinating one!
PREVIOUS UPDATES
Phase One of Construction is Underway (from Feb 2023)
Phase one of construction began in 2022. The graphic below outlines the area of the park impacted during this phase. We anticipate this phase will be substantially complete by the end of 2024.
In addition to the site preparation and tree replacement process, the first phase will also include improvements to three baseball and softball fields, renovations to soccer fields, adding restrooms, and rehabilitating the inlet area to strengthen the shoreline and protect the park from higher lake levels and severe weather. There will also be a new pedestrian bridge across the I-190. The bridge will increase access to the park and waterfront and include new landscape landings.
The second phase of construction will begin concurrently, likely in late 2024. Many factors impact construction timing – we will continue to update the website with current status and information.
Site Preparation Began in 2022
In late 2022, the tree replacement process began to allow for shoreline reconfiguration which is necessary for flood protection, ADA accessibility, and significant changes in topography (think: hills). At this time, 276 trees were removed. About 2,680 trees will be planted as part of the park’s reconstruction. The WNY Land Conservancy is collecting seeds from local native plants and growing many of these plants from the ground up. WNY Land Conservancy will provide 50,000 plants, including trees, shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers to the park. This tree replacement process will provide a greater ecologic benefit to our shoreline than what was there before.
Each piece of this project is designed to protect and improve the environment. Some of the trees will be used as part of a plan for submerged shoreline habitat, called a rootwad*, and the rest would be chipped up. Many of the newly planted trees will be native species and will provide year-round seasonal enjoyment, shade, and ecological benefits to terrestrial and avian species. *A rootwad is a bank stabilization and aquatic habitat improvement strategy. It is a buried or a partially buried dead tree into the stream-bank with the root system still attached. This method improves the natural habitat and enhances the bank stability.
The process will help reconfigure the shoreline to provide flood protection for the parkland and to create pathways that meet American Disability Act (ADA) standards. Residents will be able to continue to use the park during this process. The park’s design was created with the community’s help and input, and it celebrates the equity and diversity reflected in Buffalo and the surrounding community.
In addition to the site preparation and tree replacement process, the first phase will also include improvements to three baseball and softball fields, renovations to soccer fields, adding restrooms, rehabilitating the inlet area to strengthen the shoreline and protect the park from higher lake levels and severe weather. There will also be a new pedestrian bridge across the I-190. The bridge will increase access and include new landscape landings.
Once complete, the Ralph Wilson Park will be an interactive recreation space for both children and adults to enjoy. The park will feature a diverse assortment of native plant and tree species that will improve the lives of birds and other area wildlife.
Event Updates or Cancellations
Events in Ralph Wilson Park have been suspended during construction.
Contact Us
If you have additional questions, please fill out the form below and our project team will get back to you.
On Tuesday, over 200 members of our community gathered at Waterfront Elementary School to hear the community-driven vision for the transformation of LaSalle Park into Ralph Wilson Park.
More than 1200 partners, community members, and stakeholders have been involved in the planning and design of the park, including the 20 person Imagine LaSalle Focus Group who dreamt up what a world-class waterfront park can be. Learn more about Imagine LaSalle here.
We share the principles that informed the design of the park: community access and environmental sustainability. Ours is a beloved park with exceptional waterfront views and boundless opportunity. West side neighbors felt cut off from the park, and so we are building a beautiful, big, welcoming pedestrian bridge and improving the green space on 4th Street to become the entrance of the park. The shoreline was at the end of its life and the park couldn’t sustain the increase in frequency and strength of storms and rising water levels, so we are building a resilient shoreline and elevating the park to protect against flooding and weather events.
You can check out the presentation we shared here and watch the Facebook Live recording of our community meeting here.
We also asked people to join our Community Working Group. Our community informed the physical design of the park, and now we are asking our community to inform park programming and communications. We are looking for people who are representatives, ambassadors and participants. You can read more and sign up here.
Send us your questions through this survey and we will use them to update our FAQs. Here are the answers to the questions we received following the meeting.
Students from Leonardo daVinci High School displayed and sold their artwork inspired by Ralph Wilson Park. We are thrilled to be able to continue offer these prints for sale online. 100% of the proceeds go directly to the student artists!
Executive Director Katie Campos shares details about the park’s planning process. Mayor Brown welcomed the community to the meeting.
Students in Michelle Schroeder’s art class at Leonardo daVinci High School made beautiful prints inspired by Ralph Wilson Park to display and sell at our May 9th community meeting. We are thrilled to continue to offer these prints for sale now!
Check out the prints below and click here to purchase online. We ask for a minimum donation of $15 per print (feel free to donate more!), plus $2.50 for shipping costs. 100% of the donations (minus the shipping cost) will go directly to the students!
Please indicate the artist name (or names if you’re purchasing more than one print – names are shown in white font over image below) in PayPal notes as well as your shipping address. Please add $2.50 per address to cover shipping.
Gilbane Building Company was selected as Construction Manager for the park in June 2022, and the official groundbreaking was held in July. The Park Team will progress pre-construction and coordination over the next 4-6 months.
Increasing access to greenspace and waterfront
Construction continues on the main park, including the signature pedestrian bridge and the Great Lawn. The Great Lawn will be a location for respite and events. It will transition to a sledding hill during the winter month to ensure year-round activation.
Creating dramatic spaces
The Grove features the Edith Wilson and Linda Bogdan Gardens. It creates an eye-popping entrance as park-goers walk into the park across the pedestrian bridge.
Ensuring shoreline resiliency
Initial construction will also include the inlet, a park element which combines shoreline resiliency with ecological uplift.
Enriching the wildlife habitat
Throughout the construction, thousands of new trees and native plants will be added, as well as additional landscaping improvements.
Future construction
Future construction will include the destination play garden, blueway site to increase safe water access, expanded bike and pedestrian trails, additional sports fields/courts, and more.
