BUFFALO, N.Y. — The City of Buffalo and the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy announced a partnership agreement Wednesday during a news conference.
The agreement formalizes the public-private partnership for the management of Ralph Wilson Park. It will provide for security, programming, community engagement, maintenance, and reflects the desires of the community.
According to the news release, the park will continue to be a city-owned park (formally LaSalle Park), and the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy will perform operations and maintenance.
"Ralph Wilson Park is and will continue to be a City of Buffalo Park," said Katie Campos," Executive Director for the Conservancy. "Access will continue to be free and park users will continue to access and use Ralph Wilson Park just as they do any other city park."
Once the project is completed, Ralph Wilson Park will be an interactive recreation space for both children and adults. The park will include three baseball fields and renovations to soccer fields.
According to the release, there will also be updates to the inlet area to strengthen the shoreline and protect the park from higher lake levels and severe weather, along with a new pedestrian bridge across the I-190.
The city said the bridge will increase access and include new landscape landings with a diverse assortment of native plant and tree species that will improve the lives of birds and other area wildlife.
The city also said it wanted to fulfill the desire of the community so there will be an extensive community engagement meeting that allows the community to have a say in the design, activities programming, and park usability.
The community engagement initiative will be called “Imagine LaSalle.” It will be a multi-year, community-driven effort led by the University at Buffalo Regional Institute.
The city said the community engagement meeting is set to take place at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 9 at the Waterfront Elementary School.
To learn more and RSVP for the meeting click here.
The $110 million project is expected to be completed in 2025.