The nonprofit city agency responsible for the Northland Corridor and Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park is venturing squarely into parkland creation, as it takes the local reins of the effort to transform LaSalle Park into the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park.
The Buffalo Urban Development Corp. has been asked by the city to help with downtown waterfront planning and development, following the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation's $50 million commitment to the renaming and redevelopment of the waterfront park, as well as other projects.
The agency, chaired by Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, has already accepted a $2.8 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, providing funds over three years to hire a third-party firm for project management and development work for the park, which will include multiple projects. BUDC received one proposal for the work, but then decided to put it out for bid instead.
People are also reading…
Now it's going even further. At the request of the city and the foundation, BUDC applied for and received a second grant for $3.9 million, to continue the schematic design and due-diligence work for the park's conceptual design and to cover related costs. That will take the project through construction drawings necessary to start the physical work.
BUDC also will continue to work alongside the University at Buffalo Regional Institute and the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, which had managed the early elements of the project and continue to lead the community engagement efforts.
"It has been an incredible process so far, with the Imagine Lasalle Initiative," said BUDC Vice President David Stebbins, calling it "transformational for our waterfront and our whole community."
"This has really resulted in a world-class design concept for the park, and it’s time to keep that momentum going and move forward," he added.
In particular, BUDC on Tuesday agreed — at the Wilson Foundation's specific request — to hire Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates to handle that schematic design work, which is expected to take about 18 months. The $1.25 million initial contract cost will be funded by the Wilson grant. Other portions of the design work — which could total another $5 million — will come later.
Van Valkenburgh, along with Jones Lang LaSalle, have already been working with the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy on the development of that city's Centennial Park, which received an equal $50 million commitment from the foundation. To maintain consistency between the two "sister park" projects, both the conservancy and Wilson recommended that Buffalo use the same firms.
Normally, Stebbins noted, such a contract award would go through formal bidding, except when one vendor "has unique knowledge or expertise regarding the project" and it's in the agency's best interest, since the funding source is recommending it.
"Oh, yeah, they're recommending, but they're also paying," joked Common Council President Darius Pridgen, a BUDC board member.
In turn, Van Valkenburgh wants to contract with Wendel Cos. and other technical experts to evaluate the site and its conditions. So the BUDC board on Tuesday approved a $135,000 contract with Wendel for the due-diligence study, which will include topographic, geotechnical and environmental components.
"The sister park concept is unique," said Brendan Mehaffy, executive director of the city's Office of Strategic Planning. "It's such a tremendous asset to have one of the world’s top park designers at this point in time."
