Big chance at Dix

Dix Hill in Raleigh represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something special with 300 beautiful acres

The possibilities are breathtaking. Dorothea Dix Hospital, set to close in 2008, sits on 300 prime acres of state-owned land just southwest of downtown Raleigh, and state lawmakers, presumably led by those in the Wake County delegation, will decide what to do with it. The best idea is to create a major urban park on the site, and thereby preserve what can be a spectacular piece of greenery close to the city's core.

The chance will not come again, not with the way Raleigh is developing and growing.

Wake County state Rep. Jennifer Weiss and state Sen. Vernon Malone, co-chairs of a task force commissioned to study ideas for the Dix property, will have pivotal roles in upcoming decisions. The task force had its last scheduled meeting Monday, and Weiss and Malone were given only vague guidelines about what to do next.

As they draw up a plan, the pressures will be intense to fashion a compromise that pleases both those who want to preserve the land for a park and those who salivate over the prospects of developing it. The demand for state office space remains in the mix as well. All in all, it's hard to imagine much common ground there, part pavement and part pristine. It sounds like a Solomonic task.

Task force member Barbara Goodmon, head of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation and a successful long-time community activist, pretty much put her finger on the problem. Talking about whether Malone and Weiss would be able to stop "wheeler-dealers" in the General Assembly from selling the land to developers, Goodmon said, "I feel OK about everybody in here," referring to other members of the planning group. "I don't feel OK about everybody else."

Weiss said that she, Malone and others who are working on the plan have to have some wiggle room because of the need to craft majorities in the House and Senate. But here's the thing: These lawmakers shouldn't start out assuming that some of the property will have to be let loose for development in order to get a plan approved.

If a park is the best option -- and it is by far -- then let's hope Weiss and Malone have the gumption to stand up for it. Rep. Deborah Ross of Raleigh also should be a clear and persuasive voice for preserving the site.

After all, agreeing to commercial or residential development on part of the property now could well result in pressure to develop more and more of it in the future. A proposal from the city of Raleigh to buy the Dix site from the state, with proceeds being used to fund mental health programs, has a lot going for it, so long as it also serves the goal of using the property for parkland.

The magnitude of the decisions to be made about the Dix land cannot be understated. Many other places near downtown offer great opportunities for redevelopment, from housing to businesses. There are properties, in fact, that would be vastly improved by it. That's all the more reason to preserve what might eventually become a Central Park type of place, a startling and pleasing and relaxing area with a constructive contrast to the activity all around it.

Speculation? Maybe so, but there was a time not long ago when few people around Raleigh would have believed that Glenwood South and Boylan Heights and Oakwood and the City Market would become what they have become. The verdant vision for Dix Hill must be given a chance to succeed.