Buffalo’s waterfront hit major milestones, and got a dose of promise this week.
Renovations to recreational areas near the Outer Harbor wrapped up, Buffalo is one step closer to welcoming cruise ships and a park on the West Side is getting an injection of state funds to help overhaul its shoreline.
Newly renovated Wilkeson Pointe reopens
After two years of construction, Wilkeson Pointe at Buffalo’s Outer Harbor is once again open to the public.
The newly renovated, seven-acre area features volleyball courts and park golf locations. A restaurant operated by the owners of Dog and Pony Saloon in South Buffalo is slated to open on the grounds later this summer.
The project cost about $11 million.
“This was an industrial wasteland. Yes, it was prosperous in its time, but when that era was over, there was no plan B for literally scores of years,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at Wilkeson Point’s grand reopening on Friday. “I don’t think there’s a person who lived in that time who ever envisioned that we’d see what we’re seeing here today.”
Wilkeson Pointe was established as a recreational area in 2013 on lands formerly occupied by a New York Power Authority storage facility and a ship repair business.
Great Lakes cruise line to begin stopping in Buffalo in 2027
Victory Cruise Lines, which operates two 200-passenger cruise ships in the Northeastern U.S. and Canada, is officially committing to adding Buffalo to some of its cruise itineraries starting in 2027.
“They were bypassing Buffalo and heading right down to Erie, Pennsylvania as their first destination. I had a problem with that,” Hochul said while announcing Victory’s decision at Wilkeson Pointe. “This is an economic driver that I knew we had potential for.”
Buffalo’s addition to Victory’s itineraries is more than likely, but it’s not a done deal. Cruise ships won’t start docking in the City of Good Neighbors until construction on a terminal in the Outer Harbor is finished and officials reach “satisfactory terms” with Victory regarding the cruise line’s use of the harbor.
The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) board approved a $1.65 million contract in June to build a terminal that could accommodate cruise ships in Slip 2. Construction is expected to begin early next year, with a target completion date in mid-2027.
The announcement comes after years of effort by local and state officials to make Buffalo a destination for cruise ships.
ECHDC carried out a study on the feasibility of establishing a cruise ship industry in Buffalo in 2024, concluding that Buffalo’s attractions, existing infrastructure and “strategic position” made it a “logical stopover” for cruise ships. The study estimated that Buffalo could be welcoming around 12,000 cruise passengers annually by 2035 and that a nascent cruise industry would create around 220 jobs.
The study allowed ECHDC “continue conversations with a number of Great Lakes cruise lines in an effort to bolster the city’s potential as a cruise destination,” according to ECHDC board meeting minutes.
The corporation hired an engineering firm to the tune of more than $200,000 to assist with that study, according to New York State Urban Development Corporation meeting minutes.
New state funding for Ralph Wilson Park’s Shoreline Project
Hochul also announced that $10 million of state funding would be allocated toward Ralph Wilson Park Coastal Shoreline Project. The $65 million project, which was first announced in 2022, will replace a century-old seawall along Lake Erie and naturalize the West Side park’s shoreline.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assessment from 2011 found significant deterioration on the seawall. The project will reduce flood risk and create more recreational access to the waterfront, according to Hochul’s office.
“This funding shores up one of the most vital pieces of infrastructure in our city—and unlocks the next phase of a once-in-a-generation investment in Ralph Wilson Park,” Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy Executive Director Katie Campos said in a statement. “This shoreline not only protects the park and our drinking water system—it makes the entire transformation possible.”
The new state funding for the project comes from the state’s $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act.
Other improvement projects are ongoing at Ralph Wilson Park. A pedestrian bridge over I-190 was installed last fall and is slated to open early next year.
