A park for Dix?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 08:44:30 -0400

A House bill would create a major new park on Dix Hill in Raleigh.

Supporters of a "world-class destination park" on the soon-to-be-former campus of the Dorothea Dix state mental hospital are hailing House Bill 1644.

Jay Spain, president of the Friends of Dorothea Dix Park, said the group is "excited" about the bill, which would create a park district on the hill just southwest of downtown Raleigh.

But as has always been the case with proposals for Dix Hill, the devil remains in the details.

The bill calls for three things: 1) the creation of a "potential park district" on Dix Hill, 2) the rehabilitation of its historic buildings when "economically feasible" and 3) the generation of "significant revenues" for mental health services.

It will be hard for the new owners of a Dix Park — the bill doesn't say if that would be the city, the state or a private group — to raise much money from grassy fields and museums.

The bill is sponsored by all of the Wake County House delegation — Reps. Deborah Ross, Jennifer Weiss, Linda Coleman, Marilyn Avila, Dan Blue, Nelson Dollar, Ty Harrell, Paul Stam and Grier Martin — as well as Rep. Larry Brown of Kernersville, Rep. Rick Glazier of Fayetteville and Rep. Verla Insko of Chapel Hill.

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A park for Dix?