Elected leaders and the public gathered near the base of the North Grand Island Bridge to celebrate the completion of LaSalle Waterfront Park on Monday. Its development has been community driven for several years. A series of public meetings and design workshops that has resulted in not just another amenity in the LaSalle community, but a significant waterfront asset for WNY.
Phase one improvements created a new public park on a unique waterfront site that previously housed the members-only Century Club. The Century Club was demolished over a decade ago and the City had been seeking a developer for the site which was also used as the trailhead for the ‘upper river’ portion of the Niagara River Greenway trail. The City later decided to use the whole parcel as parkland.
Phase one pictured here required considerable earthwork to create the base for park amenities that include a play area, a fishing dock system, a covered gazebo, a cantilevered deck along the shoreline, walking paths, porous-paver parking, green-scaping, as well as, new utilities, the rehabilitation of an existing comfort station and the construction of a storage/concession building.
Phase two will add further improvements such as new site lighting, benches, picnic facilities, a “green” fence, in-water habitat plantings, a security system, and the installation of signage, etc.
The project received funding through the Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and through the Niagara River Greenway in the amount of $497,440 and $850,000 respectively.
Two additional waterfront access projects are in the works in the LaSalle section of Niagara Falls.
Griffon Park was re-opened in 2000 to the public after being closed for nearly two decades while remediation of chemicals leaking the 102nd Street Landfill were completed by EPA. The re-opening was aided with an initial $266,000 project that provided for landscaping, plantings, benches, playground equipment, picnic areas, and a walking path and was funded through the EPA, EPF, the Niagara County Environmental Fund, and the City. It marked the beginning of the City’s long-term commitment to improving waterfront access.
This second round of major improvements to Griffon Park will be completed in three stages. The first stage will address parking facilities, lighting and improvements to the boat docks. A second phase will add new trees and landscaping, fencing, a fish cleaning station, and playground equipment. The playground is funded through a KaBOOM! “Playful City USA” community-build grant in which the community is involved in all aspects of its design and construction.
A third phase of improvements will see the addition of a handicap-accessible canoe launch and dock in the Little Niagara River.
The Project has already received funding in the amounts of $200,000 through the Niagara River Greenway, $20,000 from KaBOOM! and $85,000 through the Niagara County Environmental Fund. Additional funding requests are being prepared to complete all of the improvements.
The “LaSalle Blueway Trail” project is a cooperative waterfront development effort joining the City of Niagara Falls to the LaSalle PRIDE Community Organization to improve the environmental quality and public access to the Niagara River and Little River shorelines from Griffon Park to the Century Club site at the North Grand Island Bridge.
A “canoe trail” made up of several canoe launch sites in the LaSalle district will extend from Cayuga Creek to the Little River and around Cayuga Island in the Niagara River. The conservation portion of the project will include a public lands tree survey, husbandry, and a planting project to improve healthy green structures within the “Blueway” corridor.
The project has been funded through Department of State and Local Waterfront Revitalization Program in the amount of $92,000 and $105,000 from the Niagara River Greenway. This project is co-sponsored by LaSalle Pride through services, time and materials valued at $30,000.