Raleigh officials consider asking taxpayers for up to $150M for Dix Park

Local residents may soon have to pay more green for Raleigh's green spaces, including the planned Dix Park.

Posted 11:52 p.m. Jan 21, 2020 — Updated 11:52 p.m. Jan 21, 2020

Sloane Heffernan

, WRAL anchor/reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — Local residents may soon have to pay more green for Raleigh's green spaces, including the planned Dix Park.

Raleigh officials are considering putting a parks bond on the November ballot and are weighing three options: $150 million, $200 million and $250 million.

A sizable chunk of the bond money in each of the three options, from $49.5 million in the smallest package to $150 million in the largest, would go toward converting the former Dorothea Dix Hospital property south of downtown into what planners envision as a "destination park" for the region.

The first phase includes a land bridge across Western Boulevard to connect to Pullen Park and constructing "The Gateway," a welcome plaza with gardens and a playground.

"I think the [City] Council is excited to move Dix Park forward, but they haven’t determined which projects yet" to include in the bond, said Stephen Bentley, assistant director of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources.

Greenways, improvements to existing city parks and the development of new parks also would be included in any bond package.

The proposals being debated would cost the owner of a $268,000 home anywhere from $52 to $103 more in property taxes each year.

"That's less than 10 bucks a month. It's really not that big of a deal, so I wouldn't mind it at all," Raleigh resident Anthony Bronzini said.

"It's good for the future, [for] kids, [to] give people things to do, other than just sitting on the computer or their phones," agreed resident Jounte Burwell.

City officials are working with the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce to poll residents on the various proposals before the City Council makes a final decision on what to put before voters.

Raleigh voters passed a similar park bond in 2014, but the city completed only about half of the planned projects before running out of money. Parks officials said the projects cost more than expected, so they plan to roll the remaining projects from that list into the planned bond.

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