Raleigh prepares to demolish 4 buildings at Dix Park. What to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- City will demolish four Dix Park buildings starting in May 2026.
- Webb-Harrell awarded a $3 million contract to demolish four buildings.
- City took over 1.2M sq ft in July 2025; more demolitions and renovations planned.
Demolition on the first of four buildings of the former Dorothea Dix Hospital will begin next month.
The city of Raleigh will demolish four buildings on the western portion of its 308-acre Dorothea Dix Park, its latest efforts to turn the state’s first mental health facility into a destination park.
Fencing around the buildings, found between the sunflower fields, cemetery and Big Field, recently went up. Abatement of hazardous materials is underway, according to Kate Pearce, executive director of the park.
“While demolition can feel like an ending, it’s really a beginning: restoring the natural systems and ecology of the Piedmont while creating a greener, more welcoming destination for all,” according to the park’s website.
The four buildings are slated for demolition within the following dates:
- Ashby: May 11 - June 19
- Williams: May 4 - June 12
- Kirby: June 15 - Sept. 4
- Adams: July 27 - Sept. 4
The cost of the demolition is $3 million, according to a contract with Webb-Harrell Construction Service.
Dix demolitions and renovations
Raleigh already demolished 25 buildings, but most have been smaller and total less than 50,000 square feet, The News & Observer previously reported. The city previously said it had 20 more buildings, totalling 545,000 square feet that will still be demolished.
Some buildings have also been renovated, including some of the Stone Houses that were turned into a welcome center and office space for the Dix Park Conservancy, a nonprofit that help funds the park.
The city took over responsibility for all 1.2 million square feet of building space, across 80 buildings, that was operated by the Department of Health and Human Services in July 2025 as the state department moved its headquarters, now at the corner of Blue Ridge and Reedy Creek roads near the art museum.
It cost $10.5 million for the buildings’ basic maintenance and operations, according to a city commissioned report from 2023. Demolishing buildings that haven’t been taken care and can’t be realistically and financially rehabbed adds to some open space back to the park and saves the city money, according to that report.
