Setting a plan for Dix Park

It took years for the city of Raleigh to strike a deal with the state to buy the 308 acres of the Dorothea Dix hospital property, and in those years politics got in the way more than once, causing heated exchanges and worrying some who advocated a park for the property that it would never get done.

But it did get done last year. And now it’s time to move ahead, which happily the city is doing.

A nonprofit, the Dix Park Conservancy, will raise money for the park – for planning, perhaps for inspections of the old buildings on the site, for other expenses. The conservancy, now headed by Capitol Broadcasting’s Jim Goodmon, is on “go.” Already, from donors such as the A.J. Fletcher Foundation (connected to Goodmon’s family), the Sloan Family Trust, Gregory Poole (a tireless park advocate), N.C. Symphony donor Dr. Assad Meymandi and Jim and Ann Goodnight (SAS), roughly $3 million has been raised.

Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, who’s due a tremendous amount of credit for getting the Dix deal done, rightly believes in a cooperative arrangement involving public-spirited private citizens. “It can’t be the best it could be,” McFarlane said, “if we’re relying solely on taxpayer money.”

Residents who expected a park to appear on the property once the deal was done may be disappointed, but the delay in building or deconstruction or landscaping or whatever needs to be done is good sense. The conservancy will have a say in planning; an executive committee will include the mayor, a council member, city staff, conservancy members and N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson. The committee will approve how conservancy money is spent.

And there will be a 45-member advisory committee, members chosen through applications, that will be named by the Raleigh City Council.

That makes sense, though such committees can be unwieldy at times. It’s important, if the final park plan – which will likely be two years in the making – is to gain widespread public support, to include members of the community from all different backgrounds.

Dix park represents a rare opportunity for the Capital City to establish a glorious showcase for residents and visitors from all over North Carolina to their city. The view of the downtown skyline from the highest point on the property is spectacular. With the conservancy’s bold planning, Dix Park will be, too.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 6:49 PM with the headline "Setting a plan for Dix Park."