20-foot bear slide coming to new park along Detroit Riverfront in 2025
The wait for Detroit's newest slide is proving to be more and more unbearable.
The 20-foot slide shaped like a brown bear is a part of the new 22-acre Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park at West Jefferson Avenue and Rosa Parks Boulevard that is expected to open to the public next year.
Back in early 2017, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy decided to revamp West Riverfront Park as a part of their more-than-a-decade-long project to redevelop 5½ miles of the Detroit Riverfront, turning the riverfront into a dynamic destination for both Detroiters and visitors.
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In April 2018, the Conservancy announced their decision for Michael Van Valkenburgh and Associates (MVVA), a New York-based architecture firm that is known for work on the Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City and numerous other projects across the country, to design the new park. Through the rest of 2018 into 2019, the MVVA architects and designers began to construct the park concept based on the community's desires.
On Oct. 17, 2018, the park was renamed after the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park, after the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation gifted $50 million to the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy for their redevelopment efforts — $40 million of which was allocated for construction for the new park and the remaining $10 million to support broader efforts for long-term sustainability along the riverfront.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy broke ground on the park in May 2022, with plans for a sport house pavilion with basketball courts, a water garden, lined with trees and greenery, with direct access to the Detroit River where visitors can sit and dip their feet, an expansive lawn for special events and programs, and a 4-acre playground, home to the bear slide and other animal-shaped play structures.
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More recently, on May 5, the Detroit Riverfront posted a video on Instagram of the bear being built, making Detroiters eager to hitch a ride down the honey-loving, salmon-catching slide sometime in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 20-foot bear slide coming to Detroit Riverfront in 2025