Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park opens on the west riverfront

Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park opened to the public on October 25, 2025, on 22 acres of riverfront between 8th Street and Rosa Parks Boulevard, the largest new public park to land on Detroit's waterfront in decades. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy led the project on a parcel that had been a flat industrial lot and parking before construction.

The park carries the name of Ralph C. Wilson Jr., the businessman who founded the Buffalo Bills and grew up in the Detroit area. His foundation committed $50 million toward the park, $40 million for construction and $10 million to support the riverfront over the long term, according to the Conservancy. That commitment was part of a broader $200 million investment the foundation made across Southeast Michigan and Western New York. Reporting on the full project cost has put the total figure around $80 million (per Planet Detroit).

New York landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates designed the park, the same studio behind Brooklyn Bridge Park. Adjaye Associates designed the park's pavilions, including the William Davidson Sport House, a 28,000-square-foot structure built around a sculpted concrete roof that shelters two regulation basketball courts.

The grounds are organized into distinct zones. The Delta Dental Play Garden spans about five acres and features oversized animal-shaped climbing structures, including a 23-foot bear slide. The Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden covers roughly 2.5 acres and is the first Metroparks site inside Detroit, drawing river water through the landscape. The DTE Foundation Summit is an open lawn with hills and tree-lined paths built for events and gatherings.

The Conservancy says the planting plan leans heavily on native species, with thousands of trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses across the site, some grown specifically for the project. Roughly 100 yards of shoreline are open for fishing along the Detroit River.

The opening closed a long-missing gap in the Riverwalk. With the park open, the riverfront path now runs continuously for several miles east toward Gabriel Richard Park, and the site connects inland through the Southwest Greenway, which ties into the broader greenway network heading toward Michigan Central Station and the Joe Louis Greenway loop.

The community shaped the park from the start. "The park's design has been community-led since the beginning, and Detroiters of all ages have contributed ideas and inspiration that have come to life in this park," Ryan Sullivan, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, said in the Conservancy's announcement of the opening.

The grand opening ran October 25 and 26 as a free, all-ages weekend. The Conservancy moved the Detroit Harvest Fest to the new park for the occasion, with live entertainment, fall activities and food trucks. The park is at 1801 W. Jefferson Ave.