'Best park in the world:' Residents have high praise for Dix Park plans
After more than a year of meetings and input from thousands of Raleigh residents, the planning process for the Dorothea Dix Park project has come to a close, and planners now want to show off the vision for the park.
Posted — Updated"I think it's going to be a really good park," resident Quinn Thompson said.
City leaders long envisioned the site as Raleigh's version of New York's Central Park, and designers have worked to blend nature and amenities, new development and history throughout Dix Park.
During the unveiling of the master plan, Julia Casadonte and her daughter, Lucy, said they liked what they saw and could envision the possibilities for the future of the property.
"I live a couple miles away and we can't wait. I think it's going to take a few years for it to come to fruition, but I think it's going to be absolutely amazing when it's done," Casadonte said.
The master plan calls for sectioning the park into six distinct landscapes: the Creek, the Meadow, the Grove, the Ridge, the Valley and the Gateway. Each area provides different opportunity.
"We take the master plan as a starting point, and every project from here on out will also have its own kind of planning and engagement process associated with it," project manager Katie Pearce said. "So, a lot of the comments we hear [Wednesday] will help inform that future work."
Nathaniel Hines, who has lived in Raleigh for more than four decades said the new park will be an asset to the city.
"I think it's the best park in the world. I've seen a lot of parks in my lifetime, but I think it is going to be a most beautiful park," he said.
Some of the features in the plan are as follows:
- Demolishing newer sections of the former Dorothea Dix Hospital to focus on its historic origins and transform the remaining structure into an arts space, a community incubator or a boutique hotel
- Using part of an old rail line on the property to link an amphitheater and a water garden with event centers, a food hall and offices across the campus
- Connecting the site more closely with neighborhoods to the west and Pullen Park to the north
- Restoring a creek, woodlands and a meadow, including a historic cemetery, on the property
- Building a loop walking and bike trail to tie the campus together
"There are opportunities that the master plan has taken advantage of, making sure that the park is not an island but is tied into the neighborhoods around it and connects with other open-space systems that are nearby," lead designer Michael van Valkenburgh said.
The construction of Dix Park is a work in progress, the first phase of which could span 10 to 20 years. The master plan is considered a starting point that could result in what is being called Raleigh's Central Park.
"I'm three miles from Dix. I go through there, I bike quite a bit, use the Spring Hill cross course. I love the open spaces," resident Ross Cain said.
Many details about the park require more discussion and planning, such as the Gateway area along Lake Wheeler Road, where some want to see restaurants and shops.
The Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Dix Park Conservancy, a nonprofit that helped finance the planning process, have both endorsed the master plan and asked that the Raleigh City Council approve it during its Feb. 19 meeting.
If the council backs the plan, significant work on the park could begin within a year.
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