Raleigh Public Record (https://theraleighcommons.org/raleighpublicrecord/tag/dix/)
This week on the Development Beat: More beds at Holly Hill; pastries will compete with health food for downtown snacking; and no big blow-up dancing guys for a used car lot on Glenwood Avenue.
This week in the Development Beat: New developments on the Dix property as the governor counter’s the city’s offer to buy the land with a higher price tag and less land; the Planning Commission approved two new apartment developments off Hillsborough Street. And McClatchy Interactive is moving to Hillsborough Street.
While the future of the Dix property remains unclear, Raleigh residents still enjoy the green space as a park.
Raleigh’s mental health advocates want to consider those with mental illness during the Dix Park planning phase. In other business at this week’s meeting, Councilors approved two more road races this year, asked for 30-minute musician loading zones and will begin holding town meetings in their districts.
With state officials unwilling to give the city any answers, it’s possible that city leaders will have to find additional funding for the potential Dix property lease.
Last week on Jones Street, a bill to promote a study of the Red Route for N.C. 540 moved forward, while Gov. Pat McCrory and Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane announced a possible deal for Dix park. Photo by TW Buckner.
Signed in 1850, the first deed for the first parcel of what would become known as the Dix Property stipulated that it was sold “in trust for the use and benefit of the North Carolina State Hospital for the Insane the following patch or parcel of land” – but this does not appear to require the land to house a mental-health facility.
A bill before the state legislature to nullify the lease between Raleigh and the state for the Dix property gets the history wrong. The bill implies a land trust requires the property be used for mental health, but such a trust was never established.
Two bills filed in the North Carolina General Assembly Thursday would undo an agreement between the state and the city to turn the Dorothea Dix Property into a destination park.
The Dix property is now a city park, but it will likely be years before there are any major changes to the land.
