Rolling in the right direction for Raleigh

RALEIGH -- Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker's offer to purchase the 306-acre Dorothea Dix mental health complex is an obvious low-ball attempt on the part of the City of Raleigh to acquire that precious swath of property just southwest of the central city.

I applaud the mayor's effort to get the ball rolling on converting this gold mine acreage to public park land. The mayor's approach was what it should be -- looking out for the citizens of Raleigh. He knew his offer was low because for a few years now we've been hearing that the land is worth at least $40 million.

Raleigh residents, though, are also North Carolinians, and the state's citizenry should not be cheated when it comes to the sale of this prime state property. Three independent appraisers should be called in to assess the property; their findings should be averaged and the state should offer the land to the City of Raleigh for that amount.

Since Raleigh would be the recipient of the land, perhaps the state should, using a per capita formula based on population, deduct Raleigh's "portion" for the sale of the land and reduce the offering price accordingly. (Raleigh equals 4 percent of the state's population.) To reduce the asking price further, the city could swap land with the state. The city owns scores of tracts of land downtown that it could offer the state -- further reducing the cash outlay required of the city for the land. There are a number of vacant parcels along New Bern Avenue east of the Capitol that are perfect for future state government expansion.

In all events, the City of Raleigh is the obvious and proper steward for the Dix property. It should be converted to park use with the only development allowed being support facilities for the park itself -- rest rooms, a visitor's center, meeting facilities, dining facilities and park administration.

The park should be named for Dorothea Dix, the mental health pioneer for whom the hospital is named, and an interpretive museum in Dix's honor should be part of the project. The park should include facilities that any major city park has -- tennis courts, outdoor basketball courts, softball and soccer fields.

But this very special urban park should also be home to a botanical garden, a plant and flower conservatory, an indoor and an outdoor theatre complex, an art museum and a sculpture garden. Wide expanses of lawns, which have always been the site's landmarks, must be maintained to preserve the sweeping vistas of the changing downtown skyline.

With respect to commercial development, there is plenty of property that surrounds the park site that is prime for development. All along Lake Wheeler Road are modest home sites that could be purchased and high-rise condominium and apartment buildings constructed on the perimeter of the park.

Only a handful of structures in the park now used by the hospital should remain. The preservation issue is an emotional one. But there is very little of architectural integrity or uniqueness among that motley collection of buildings. The main hospital building in particular needs to be razed. No matter how stellar the reputation of its designer, the building has been altered so many times the initial design was compromised decades ago. It is a hulking building and not appropriate in a park setting; it will always look like a hospital.

Mayor Meeker is right to push the legislature now. The state is about to move the hospital to Butner. We need to get about the work of making that land an asset for the city, not an eyesore.

Just considering all the Dix 306 signs in front yards all over the city, it is clear that the public wants this land to be a city park. Now is the best time to move forward. If the city needs to float bonds to acquire the land to create a first-class urban park, the citizens of Raleigh will certainly support it.

(Lee Hansley of Raleigh is a former chairman of the city's Arts Commission.)