Massive Private Gift to Fund Parks and Trails in Detroit, Buffalo

"In one of the largest gifts of its kind ever, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation is donating $200 million to create new parks and recreational trails in Detroit and in the Buffalo, New York, area," reports John Gallagher.

"The gift will be split equally between the two regions. In the biggest Detroit piece, the foundation is donating $50 million to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy to build the planned 22-acre west riverfront park," adds Gallagher.

The 22-acre park, first covered by Planetizen in April 2018, will thus be named the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, as announced at a ceremony at the future site of the park on what would have been Wilson's 100th birthday.

"The Conservancy’s ultimate vision [for the West Riverfront] is to develop five-and-a-half miles of riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge on the west to Gabriel Richard Park, which is just east of the MacArthur (Belle Isle) Bridge," according to the Conservancy's website.