While Mayor Charles Meeker has favored the idea of closing Dorothea Dix Hospital for several years now, state legislators are prepared to fight for its preservation.
Dix lease debate pits Raleigh business leaders against advocates for mentally ill
WRAL
RALEIGH -- Local business leaders and others told Wake County lawmakers Monday that they need to stand behind Raleigh's lease of the former Dorothea Dix site, while advocates for the mentally ill said a psychiatric hospital should be returned to the 325-acre site.
Senate bill seeks to tear up lease for park
ABC-11 and Associated PressRALEIGH -- Senate Republican leaders are moving forward with legislation to throw out a lease that lets Raleigh build a large park on the old Dorothea Dix mental hospital campus on the scale of Central Park in New York or Piedmont Park in Atlanta., although city leaders and residents are fighting the change.
Supporters of Dix Park Appeal to Wake lawmakers
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- Supporters of the Dorothea Dix park plans turned out in droves Monday afternoon to oppose Republican legislators’ efforts to revoke the city’s lease on the prime real estate near downtown.About 300 people packed a hearing before Wake County’s legislative delegation, with others forced to listen from the hallway. Sen. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat, called the crowd “unprecedented.”
Saunders: Why such vitriol over Dix vote?
News & Observer
“Lord, we don’t need another mountain. There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb.”
Those words rang true when Jackie DeShannon first sang them in 1965, before strip malls and big-box stores and apartment complexes and megachurches began sprouting like toadstools after a summer rain.
Right Dix deal, wrong GOP response
News & Observer
Only minutes after the Council of State voted to allow the City of Raleigh to develop a major park at the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus, Republican Sen. Phil Berger, the state Senate’s leader, issued a statement declaring: “It is a sad day for our state when leaders entrusted to protect the best interests of all North Carolinians give a valuable state asset to a chosen few for little in return.”
We appreciate the alacrity of Berger’s analysis, but we regret its lack of perspective.
NC, Raleigh councils OK lease to create Dix park
ABC-11
RALEIGH -- The City of Raleigh will lease the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus from the State of North Carolina for 75 years under a lease agreement approved by the City Council Tuesday afternoon on a 7-1 vote.
The city plans to convert land on the 325-acre site into an urban park following development of a master planning process that will include citizen participation.
Dix land lease to Raleigh approved
Triangle Business Journal
RALEIGH -- In a 6-2 vote with one abstention, the North Carolina Council of state this morning approved the lease of the Dorothea Dix property to the city of Raleigh for development as an urban park.
The agreement will be executed by Dec. 31, 2012, pending approval by the Raleigh City Council later today. Plans are afoot to spend $3 million in privately raised money to develop a master plan for the park.
State, city leaders approve Dix park
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- The vision for a major urban park on the edge of downtown achieved a long-sought breakthrough Tuesday when the state and city approved an agreement to preserve 300 acres at the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus.
The two sides must still negotiate the details of a long-term lease, but advocates and elected leaders hailed the pact as a historic step that clears the way for Raleigh to begin planning its own version of Central Park on the leafy, rolling grounds of the former psychiatric hospital.
Dix is saved: Witnessing the birth of a great urban park
The Independent
RALEIGH -- On our holiday gift lists, every North Carolinian should proudly include the present we're giving to the future, which is the chance to create a great urban park on Dix Hill in Raleigh.
Make your thank-you notes out to Jay Spain, Bill Padgett, Greg Poole Jr. and the members of the advocacy groups they lead, the Friends of Dorothea Dix Park, Dix306 and the Dix Visionaries, respectively.
NC, Raleigh councils OK lease to create Dix park
AP
RALEIGH -- North Carolina's top elected statewide leaders agreed Tuesday to lease prime urban property where a mental hospital stood for more than 150 years to the city of Raleigh to develop a park, rebuffing Republicans and their allies who questioned the deal's timing and value.
A majority on the 10-member Council of State, comprised of outgoing Gov. Beverly Perdue, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and other leaders, voted to lease the 325-acre Dorothea Dix Hospital property tract to Raleigh for 75 years for up to $68 million over the period.
State, Raleigh agree on lease of Dix campus for major park
WRAL
RALEIGH -- State and Raleigh officials on Tuesday approved a plan to lease the 325-acre Dorothea Dix Hospital campus to the city, which plans to convert the site into a "destination park."
The Council of State, the panel of 10 statewide elected officials, voted along party lines for the lease, with Republican Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and Republican Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry opposing the plan. Democratic State Auditor Beth Wood abstained from the vote, saying the issue could come before her office for an audit later.
City Council approves Dorothea Dix lease agreement
NBC-17
RALEIGH -- Raleigh City Council voted 7-1 Tuesday to lease the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus for use as a city park. The city will lease the 325-acre site from the state at a rate of $500,000 annually, plus a 1.5 percent yearly increase compounded over the length of the agreement. The city will be allowed to renew the 75-year lease for up to 24 additional years.
Dix park prospects
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- A Christmas star glimmers these evenings atop the main building of Dorothea Dix Hospital, once a mainstay in North Carolina’s mental health care system. It’s as though the star, or whoever mounted it, doesn’t want to acknowledge the painful truth – that the hospital overlooking downtown Raleigh is far along toward abandonment as a refuge for troubled souls.
That decision can be second-guessed until the cows that used to roam Dix Hospital’s once-extensive fields come home. Instead of being cared for at Dix, patients needing to be on a ward now are sent to a new, smaller hospital in Butner.
McCrory, GOP legislative leaders want Perdue’s Dix plan blocked
News & Observer
Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue’s plan to convert the Dorothea Dix Hospital property into a major urban park faces an uncertain future.
The 10-member Council of State is expected to consider a proposal in early December from the governor to lease the property to the city of Raleigh for 75 to 99 years.
Gov.-elect McCrory joins Dix fray; Gov. Perdue pushes back against GOP
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- Gov.-elect Pat McCrory is joining Republican lawmakers who are calling for Gov. Bev Perdue to back down from her Dix park plan.
A spokesman for McCrory issued this statement: "Governor-Elect McCrory believes it is best for North Carolina to hold on any major decisions like the Dorothea Dix campus until he and the legislature can study the impact to North Carolina taxpayers and ensure it does not adversely impact the state," Ricky Diaz said. "The process should be transparent and allow sufficient time for public review and feedback with the needs of the mental health community in mind."
Perdue drafting plan to convert Dix into major urban park
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- Gov. Bev Perdue is expected to present a plan as soon as next week to convert the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus in Raleigh into a major urban park.
The outgoing Democrat’s administration is negotiating two potential options with Raleigh leaders to vacate the property and draft a 75-to-99-year lease to the city for a yet-to-be-determined price. The decision is likely to come before the Democrat-dominated Council of State at its next meeting, tentatively scheduled for Dec. 4.
State, Raleigh to close deal on Dix campus
WRAL
RALEIGH -- The Dorothea Dix campus will become a 325-acre "destination park" under negotiations between the City of Raleigh and Gov. Bev Perdue's office that could be final as soon as next week.
Under the current incarnation of the deal, the state would lease all 325 acres of the Dix property to Raleigh. The city would then lease back a portion of the property to the state. As detailed by Perdue Deputy Chief of Staff Kevin McLaughlin, there are two options for this lease-back arrangement:
Berger and Tillis: Reject Dix deal
WRAL
RALEIGH -- Republican leaders are beginning to grumble about the deal Gov. Bev Perdue is pursuing to turn the Dorothea Dix campus into a park under a lease arrangement with the city.
“Having failed for four long years to advance her agenda, Gov. Perdue is desperately trying to create a last-minute legacy at the expense of North Carolina taxpayers,” Berger said in a news release. “I urge the Council of State to be the ‘adults in the room’ and reject her hasty plan to hand over a valuable state asset with little in return. The decisions about the future of the Dorothea Dix campus and the location of DHHS should be made by our new governor and legislature after thoughtful consideration.”
Berger calls Perdue plan for Dix campus a 'stunt'
WTVD
RALEIGH -- Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger labeled Governor Perdue's reported plan to lease the campus of the former Dorothea Dix mental hospital to the City of Raleigh for a public park a "stunt" Tuesday.
"Having failed for four long years to advance her agenda, Gov. Perdue is desperately trying to create a last-minute legacy at the expense of North Carolina taxpayers," said Berger in a news release.
GOP legislative leaders want NC land deal delayed
Associated Press
RALEIGH -- Republican legislative leaders sharply criticized outgoing Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue on Tuesday over her efforts to move soon on prime state-owned Raleigh real estate where a mental hospital sat for more than 150 years.
This week's disclosure that Perdue is close to working out a deal with the City of Raleigh to turn the state-owned Dorothea Dix Hospital property into a regional park resumed the partisan acrimony that defined her two-year relationship with GOP lawmakers. It also highlighted the limitations Republicans face until Perdue leaves office in early January and is replaced by Republican Pat McCrory.
Dorothea Dix Park: A done deal for Raleigh?
Indy Week
RALEIGH -- WRAL and The News & Observer are reporting that Gov. Perdue and the city of Raleigh are close to a deal for turning the 306-acre Dorothea Dix Hospital campus into a destination park. Mayor Nancy McFarlane's been working on this virtually since the day she took office. Now, with the clock running out on her term as governor — and with the General Assembly not in session and able to block her — Perdue, too, is pushing the pedal to the floor.
GOP Reacts to Dix Deal
North Carolina News Network
RALEIGH -- Republican lawmakers are not reacting favorably to reports that just surfaced that Democratic Governor Bev Perdue is planning to strike a deal to sell the Dorthea Dix Property in Downtown Raleigh as she heads out the door.
Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger labeled Governor Perdue's reported plan to lease the campus of the former Dorothea Dix mental hospital to the City of Raleigh for a public park a "stunt.”
Scramble for Dix property?
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- Now that an August closing of the Dorothea Dix mental hospital in Raleigh has been approved by the Council of State (statewide-elected officials who are part of the executive branch), will the debate over the city of Raleigh’s desire to purchase the 306-acre property for a public park intensify? It most certainly will.
This prime property, near downtown and overlooking the city’s skyline, would surely be a developer’s dream: green acreage, old trees, gently rolling hills, serenity and plenty of space in a city’s core with not much space left.
Last patients to leave Dorothea Dix in August
Charlotte Observer, News & Observer
RALEIGH -- Dorothea Dix Hospital will close its doors to its last patients in August, the Council of State voted this morning, ending an era of treating the mentally ill that began in 1856.
NC officials get permission to close hospital
Associated Press, Asheville Citizen-Times, Charlotte Observer, Greenville Daily Reflector, NBC 17, News & Observer, Washington Examiner, WTVD
RALEIGH -- North Carolina's oldest state mental hospital could be shuttered for good by this summer now that statewide elected leaders agreed Tuesday that the nearly two dozen remaining forensic patients can be moved to a more modern location.
The Council of State — comprised of Gov. Beverly Perdue and nine other elected officials — voted to give its formal blessing to the Department of Health and Human Services to close Raleigh's Dorothea Dix Hospital on Aug. 10. The Legislature could still block the closure when lawmakers return in May, but a key Republican legislator suggested that's not likely.
State leaders approve Dorothea Dix closure
News 14 Carolina
RALEIGH -- It appears to be the end of an era for the mental facility that's been serving patients in the Tar Heel State for more than 155 years.
During the Council of State meeting Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services got approval from state leaders to shut down Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh this summer.
Council of State approves closing Dix
WRAL-TV
RALEIGH -- The Council of State has given its blessing to Department of Health and Human Services plans to close the Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh.
Gov. Bev Perdue and other statewide elected officials voted unanimously to allow the last 30 patient beds to move from the downtown Raleigh Dix campus to the new Central Regional Hospital in Butner.
DHHS aims for Aug. 10 Dix closure
WRAL-TV
RALEIGH -- The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is asking for permission to close the last remnants of the Dorothea Dix mental hospital in Raleigh on Aug. 10.
According to a memo sent to the Council of State, only 30 patients remain at Dix. Those patients would be transferred to Central Regional Psychiatric Hospital in Butner if the council, which is made up of the governor and nine other statewide elected officials, gives its approval.
Dix to close this summer, but future remains unsettled
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- The closure of Dorothea Dix Hospital will be completed this summer when the state moves 30 remaining mental health patients to a new hospital in Butner.
But lawmakers signaled Tuesday that they won’t rush to settle on a new use for the state-owned Dix property, despite pressure from advocates eager to see the land become a park.
Perdue may resolve future of Dorothea Dix campus
News & Observer
RALEIGH -- With Gov. Bev Perdue liberated from re-election considerations, advocates for creating an urban park on the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus believe the governor may be ready to make the bold stroke of signing off on a long-awaited deal.
What will happen to Dix Campus?
WTVD-TV
Dix Visionaries see Destination Park
Gregory Poole Jr., chairman of Dix Visionaries, thinks the old state mental hospital should be turned into a destination for Raleigh.
Raleigh’s Central Park
Downtown Raleigh Alliance Endorses Vision for Raleigh Central Park
The Downtown Raleigh Alliance (DRA) recently adopted a resolution in favor of a Destination Park at Dix Campus after the state ends its operations on the site. The group’s board of directors approved the resolution following a presentation by Greg Poole Jr., chair of the Dix Visionaries.
Ann Goodnight Joins Dix Visionaries Board of Directors
Distinguished Community Advocate to Support Statewide Push for Destination Park
“I see the possibilities with the beautiful Dix Campus land, and preserving it for all North Carolinians and future generations,” said Goodnight. “A Destination Park in the heart of North Carolina would bring enormous economic and social benefits to the state.”
Everything in nature contains all the power of nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff.
Ralph Waldo Emerson