Ralph Wilson Park (copy)
An aerial view shows construction at Ralph Wilson Park last summer. Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News
Buffalo's parks are getting some positive attention, thanks in part to a huge investment from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, and the work that money is funding to renovate the city park named for the late Buffalo Bills owner, the former LaSalle Park.
Buffalo skyrocketed to 22nd place on ParkScore’s 2025 list for the best park systems of 100 major U.S. cities, a 19-place improvement from last year. While many factors could have contributed, one project tipped the scales, park officials said.
The ParkScore Index is operated by the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit organization that seeks to ensure local access to nature.
Its annual index uses a point system to rank city parks across five categories: acreage, access, investment, amenities and equity. In Buffalo, 90% of residents are within 10 minutes walking distance from a park. Buffalo scored particularly high this year in investments, which contributed substantially to its top 25 rank. On average, a total of $66,111,433 is invested in Buffalo parks each year.
According to TPL's director of parks research, Will Klein, "the significant public and private investment, led by the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation in the $150 million-plus renovation of Ralph Wilson Park," was the primary driver of Buffalo's improved ranking.
Katie Campos is executive director of the Ralph Wilson Park Conservancy, an organization formed to carry out Buffalo’s community vision for rebuilding the waterfront park on Porter Avenue that was previously known as LaSalle Park. Campos and her team envision a clean, safe and beautiful "world-class park."
“We’re making sure that the park being built and transformed is reflective of the community’s vision. Once the construction is complete, we will maintain, operate and program Ralph Wilson Park,” said Campos.
Transforming the former LaSalle Park has been in the works for eight years, including the current period of construction that started in July 2023. The initial stages involved gathering local perspectives. The University at Buffalo Regional Institute engaged a focus group called “Imagine LaSalle.” The five-year process involved thousands of public survey responses and dozens of community meetings.
“LaSalle Park is also the park I grew up at. It’s a park that has been beloved by our community for a really long time … and it was deteriorating,” said Campos.
The massive infrastructure investment involves redoing 1 mile of shoreline and elevating the park by 30 feet in places. Structural resiliency of the shoreline will greatly improve, with a significant storm network underneath to drain itself.
“All of that is an investment for future generations. This is going to outlast our grandkids’ grandkids,” said Campos. “This is an investment in building an infrastructure that will stand the test of time, that will serve the community.”
Park lovers can anticipate three times as many pathways for biking or walking, a new dog park and gardens full of flowers and native plants. New high-quality soccer, baseball and softball fields are also being developed, which will include lights and scoreboards.
Ralph Wilson Park will reopen in phases. The bridge, Fourth Street Park, the Great Lawn, soccer fields, baseball fields and pathways on the south end are scheduled to open in the summer of 2026. The amphitheater will be reopened at a later date, as fundraising for that part of the project continues. Phase two construction starts this summer. Those spaces will reopen at the end of 2027 or early 2028.
The splash pad area near the park's entrance remains open.
Campos said that putting these improvements on Buffalo’s lower West Side will connect people, particularly children, from different racial and economic backgrounds. She believes that by building trust across lines of difference, Buffalo will benefit as a whole. If the city’s future leaders are exposed to more people, it will influence more inclusive decisions in adulthood.
Deputy Commissioner Andrew Rabb is responsible for the City of Buffalo Division of Parks and Recreation. Part of his role involves oversight of parks operation and administration and park capital project planning. Rabb noted that several investments came to fruition last year after years of preparation.
There are several smaller projects taking place at other parks. JFK, Sears Paderewski, Hank Nowak, Trinidad, Peter Street, Roosevelt, Schiller and Shoshone parks will all see improvements.
The city also worked with the Olmsted Parks Conservancy on new playgrounds in Delaware and Cazenovia parks in 2023. Smaller park projects made possible through federal and state grants were also started last year. Since the city started overseeing its parks in 2010, $100 million has been allocated to improving parks without the Ralph Wilson Park investment, according to Rabb.
While the investments helped improve the score, Rabb says that Buffalo historically has “great park bones.” He also mentioned that the ParkScore Index is helpful not simply in a comparative way, but more for finding solutions to common difficulties across the country.
“Every city has basically the same fundamental challenges with parks. It’s a good tool to see what others are doing. It shows how different cities are basically attacking the same problems that we all share,” said Rabb.
Rabb believes that the evolution of Buffalo’s park system can be attributed to direct community outreach, engagement and accountability.
TPL said parks are one of the “least-polarized spaces in America.”
“Parks and green space can facilitate social interactions and social connectedness – which get reflected in such outcomes as increased volunteerism, forming ties through shared interest like sports or a hobby or civic engagement,” said Klein.
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