Friends of Dorothea Dix Park — a group pushing for the creation of an urban park on the 306-acre Dix grounds near downtown — touted Aiken’s support in a news release today. Aiken has signed a petition for the group.

“I am so excited about the opportunity that we have to protect such an amazing amount of open space right here in the Triangle,” the news release quoted Aiken as saying. “It's an opportunity that won't likely ever come again. It is an opportunity that the overdeveloped cities and towns around the country can only wish they still had, and that we are blessed with.”

Some state legislators and civic leaders have urged the state to sell the Dix land to the city of Raleigh for preservation. Legislators have said they want at least $40 million for the property, which overlooks the central business district.

Gov. Mike Easley meanwhile, wants to use the site for a $173 million office complex for the state Department Of Health and Human Services. Currently, state health employees are scattered at several sites around Raleigh, including some who work in crumbling buildings at Dix.