Work advances on Ralph Wilson Park, Northland Corridor

Work is ongoing to transform the former LaSalle Park into Ralph C. Wilson Centennial Park in Buffalo, another significant local project that's impacting Western New York's pool of labor and materials.

Ralph Wilson Jr. Centennial Park as of April 27, 2020.

Work is progressing on the shoreline of Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park in Buffalo, as contractors remove driftwood near the adjacent condominiums, bring in large rocks and smaller stone to rebuild and replace the breakwall, dredge the shoreline, and prepare to construct a pedestrian bridge.

The work, overseen by Gilbane Building Co., is part of the $110 million effort to convert the aging former LaSalle Park into the new park, with sports fields, playgrounds, walking paths, bike paths and other facilities on Buffalo's West Side.

The project, funded with a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, has been in planning stages for the last two years.

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"We are finally underway," senior project manager Kelly Maloney told the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. BUDC is overseeing the project for the city.

Maloney said dredging work by Bidco Marine began late last week, and will finish in the next couple of weeks. Medium to large stones are being delivered to the shoreline for installation. Pavilions and playground equipment have been taken down and will be reused as much as possible, along with bleachers and signs. Granite curbs are being retained. Detours have been set up for park users. And soil will be reused on-site to keep costs down.

Ferguson Electric is putting in temporary electrical power. Union Concrete will start installing pilings for the bridge in the next few weeks. And Gilbane is coordinating with CSX Rail and the State Thruway Authority on the pedestrian bridge.

"There's a lot of work going on," Maloney said.

Meanwhile, at the Northland Corridor – also overseen by BUDC – a team of architects and engineers are working on plans for four small projects as part of the next phase of development in the East Side light-industrial hub, which is anchored by the Northland Workforce Training Center.

A diagram showing the four major components of the Phase 3 redevelopment at the Northland Corridor, including renovations of two buildings, the addition of two parking lots, and a new community solar array and microgrid.

Plans are still preliminary, with design expected to finish by the end of the year or early next year. Officials cautioned that they could change as the project moves through municipal reviews and community discussions. Work will go out to bid next year, with construction starting in summer 2024, to be completed after 18 to 24 months.

A preliminary rendering of the front of the soon-to-be renovated building at 541 East Delavan Ave., as part of the Northland Corridor.

According to Aaron Schauger, project manager at LaBella Associates – which is leading the team that includes four other firms – a steel-framed building at 541 E. Delavan Ave. will be cleaned and renovated to create new light industrial commercial space, with new parking and green stormwater infrastructure on the former Superfund site, which extends south to Northland.

A preliminary rendering of the rear of the soon-to-be renovated building at 541 East Delavan Ave., as part of the Northland Corridor.

The renovated building will feature a terra cotta shell made locally in Western New York and extensive windows, as well as two deep truck loading docks, 80 additional parking spaces and more green space. It will have entrances from East Delavan and from the rear parking area, with plantings and artistic dividers to shield the loading docks from view.

Officials are targeting one or two manufacturing tenants for the building, which has an open floor plan for now. "We're making sure we have some flexibility," said BUDC Executive Vice President Rebecca Gandour.

A preliminary aerial rendering of the soon-to-be renovated building at 541 East Delavan Ave., as part of the Northland Corridor.

It will also have a rooftop community solar array, with more solar panels mounted on the adjacent ground, to generate enough power for the surrounding residential neighborhoods, along with a battery storage system. Residents of about 242 houses on both sides of Delavan from Grider Street to Fillmore Avenue will be able to save between 9% and 24% on their electricity bill.

Across the site, a second portion of the building at 612 Northland will be renovated for another 10,000 square feet of usable space. The first portion, known as the "A" building, housed a temporary exhibition space for the Albright-Knox Art Gallery during the museum's reconstruction of its primary home on Elmwood Avenue.

A preliminary rendering of the renovated "B" building at 612 Northland Ave., as part of the Northland Corridor.

The building's shell will be kept and rehabbed, with a winding entry pathway, as well as a handicapped accessibility ramp.

Preliminary renderings of the renovated "B" building at 612 Northland Ave., as part of the Northland Corridor.

An existing parking lot at 714 Northland – diagonally across from the Workforce Training Center – will be replaced, for 66 additional parking spaces, with entry from Northland and Chelsea Place. A second south lot, now vacant, will provide another 45 spaces, with entry from Chelsea and Dutton Avenue.

A diagram of the Northland Corridor residential neighborhood that will benefit from the proposed new community solar project.

An existing electrical substation owned by BUDC will be upgraded with new equipment to provide more electrical capacity on the Northland campus.

Reach Jonathan D. Epstein at (716) 849-4478 or [email protected].

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