Buffalo’s former LaSalle Park is entering the next phase of its nearly $200 million transformation into Ralph Wilson Park, but the full opening will take a little longer than initially expected.
The 100-acre waterfront park is still an active construction site, but city officials say the project is moving forward.
Mayor Sean Ryan says the transformation is rare for a city where most major public parks were built generations ago.
"We have a 200-year-old city, and usually when you have a city that's 200 years old, you're built out, you don't have an opportunity to build new parks, and this is why this is such an exceptional thing to a built-out city," Ryan said.
The park’s first phase is nearing completion, but officials now say the full Phase One opening — initially slated for Summer 2026 — is expected in 2027.
For this year, the city is focusing on opening the Fourth Street side of the park, including neighborhood amenities near the playground and splash pad. Stephen Buccilli, Interim Commissioner for the City of Buffalo Division of Parks and Recreation, says crews are waiting for fields landscaping and pathways to be fully ready.
“We just want to make sure that when we open this up, it is for generational use, and we do not want to open up too early and then jeopardize the investment to the community and just functionality,” he said.
Phase Two will bring shoreline improvements, roads, pathways, landscaping and a signature Great Lakes freighter-themed play structure. Officials say the freighter is being fabricated in Germany and will be about 130 feet long with slides, cargo nets and a captain’s cab for children to play in.
The project began as a much smaller idea but grew through community input. The park was originally imagined as a 20- to 30-acre project tied to a $40 million capital build. It will now span 100 acres with total costs estimated between $190 million to $200 million. The Ralph Wilson Foundation is contributing about $100 million. Mary Wilson says the park will bring community members together from all walks of life and that the project is the perfect way to honor both the City of Buffalo and the legacy of her late husband.
“Ralph would be so proud of what his name will be on right here, and I love it," she said.
The full park is expected to be completed around 2028.
