For years, people who live in the nearby Boylan Heights neighborhood have walked their dogs, thrown around Frisbees and jogged through the eastern corner of the property.

The majestic red oaks and other trees have led many to call this area the Grove.

It is no coincidence that the 315-acre site feels like a park. In the 19th century, the planners of the state's first psychiatric hospital thought that a bucolic setting would calm the nerves of patients.

When Raleigh rerouted Western Boulevard in the 1990s, it straightened the Rocky Branch creek, planted a row of trees and built a bike path alongside it, adding to the parklike feel.

All eight plans drawn up for the Dix site so far recommend leaving this corner undeveloped. That is because the low-lying area floods regularly during storms and the hills are too steep to build on.

Judy Murray, owner of Baja Burrito, takes her dog, Jackson, to the Grove once a day. She said she prefers it to nearby Pullen Park, which does not have as natural a landscape.

"I like that there's grass to walk on and have your dogs run on," she said.