NCSU Dean Urges Putting Dix Land Before Buildings

Design Dean Calls for Thinking of Land Before Buildings
Much of the talk about how to reuse the 300 acres of the soon-to-close Dorothea Dix Hospital property has been about what to build—residential? retail? offices? park?

Determining what to do with an immense piece of prime Raleigh real estate is a decision with a lasting impact, and one voice is calling for more attention to the land itself than to whatever might go above it.

The hospital land, blocks away from the central part of the city, is a place to breathe, in the view of Marvin J. Malecha, dean of NC State University's College of Design.
 
“The first thing we have to do is step way back,” Malecha said Thursday.

Malecha, an architect, has seen all the plans for the Dorothea Dix property. He said he has followed the conflicts. His conclusion is that focusing of the land is more important than focusing on what to build there.

“Our city needs a destination park and [to] think about how weave into the ecosystem, region and to the life of the community and how do we sustain it, how do we bring it to life,” Malecha said. “The greatest possibility here is for us to connect the city into its natural landscape.”

Development to support the park could work on the land or around it, he added.

Many lawmakers say the land can be a great park as along as getting to that point does not ignore other stake holders, such as the mental health community.

“How wonderful the park is, I think, depends not as much on the legislature as on the local commitment to make it wonderful,” State Rep. Deborah Ross said.

"Wonderful" for Ross, who lives on the edge of Dix, means finding solutions not just for park land but for all the state offices and the historic buildings on site.

“I think it’s a very important decision on several levels,” she said.

The levels include those who think not building would be missing a unique opportunity.

“We don't want to see it irresponsibly used—or should I say underutilized, when it's got all this capacity,” said Greg Poole of the Dix Visionaries.

The leaders of the Dix Study Commission are drafting legislation to take to lawmakers. They have a list of guidelines from which to to work.

A decision on the property could come during this legislative session. The hospital is slated to move late this year or early in 2008 to a new Central Region Psychiatric Hospital being built in Butner.


Share:
Add to del.icio.us del.icio.us    Add to Digg Digg    Add to Google Google    Add to Yahoo! Yahoo!    Add to facebookfacebook   Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon    Add to Reddit Reddit

1 Comment


Golo

Welcome to GOLO, where WRAL.com visitors can comment on stories and create profile pages, blogs and photo galleries.

You must be a registered WRAL.com user to use these tools. Click here to register or log in.

View Comments View Comments

Ask Anything
  1. Debra Morgan
    10 questions with WRAL Anchor Debra Morgan

    WRAL Anchor Debra Morgan answers your questions about TV news.

  2. Harry Dolan, Raleigh police chief candidate
    10 questions with Raleigh Police Chief Harry Dolan

    Raleigh's police chief answers your questions about officers' pay, panhandlers, violent crime ...

  3. Cary police K-9 handler Jeremy Burgin and dog, Max
    10 questions with Cary police K-9 Handler Jeremy Burgin

    K-9 Handler Jeremy Burgin answers your questions about training his dog Max, bullet-proof vests for dogs ...

Multimedia
  1. Home_Run_Derby_Baseball
    This week in photos

    A look at the top stories of the week through the lenses of Associated Press photographers.

  2. val
    WRAL’s Valonda Calloway learns to fly

    WRAL Anchor Valonda Calloway learns how to fly, with help from Peter Pan.

  3. APTOPIX_Vietnam_Miss_Universe_2008
    This week in entertainment

    A look at the top entertainment stories this week through the lenses of Associated Press photographers.

  4. What is salmonella?
    What is salmonella and how can it be avoided?

    What is salmonella and how can it be avoided?

  5. fuel tracker logo stacked
    Fuel Tracker: Find lowest gas prices

    Our Fuel Tracker can help you find the lowest prices by zip code or city. And sign up for e-mail alerts, too.