In one of her final acts as Governor of North Carolina, Bev Perdue signed a bill that leased the campus of the Dorothea Dix hospital to the City of Raleigh Friday, Dec. 28.
The Dorothea Dix Hospital, named after mental health heroine Dorothea Dix, is the now desolate site of what was once a psychiatric hospital. Located adjacent to N.C. State University, much of the property’s previous 2,000 plus acreage was sold to the University and has become part of Centennial Campus. The hospital has been in decline dating back to 2000.
Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane joined Perdue at the event to sign the 26-page lease that would give the hospital to the city.
According to the News & Observer, the lease procures a $500,000 annual rent the city will pay for 75 years, with yearly increments of 1.5 percent. With the option to renew the lease for another 24 years, putting the city’s lease at 99 years. The property’s value would be $112 million, going directly to the state.
The hospital’s remaining patients were moved to a facility in Butner, N.C., Aug. 15, 2012, according to News 14 Carolina, despite Dorothea Dix Hospital’s previous reputation as a leading provider of mental health services in Raleigh.
The hospital’s new lease under the City of Raleigh is not expected to have a significant effect on Raleigh’s mental health patients, but rather on the city itself as plans to transform the 325-acre property take place.
“We understand that preservation of God’s best resources, like Dix Park, is part of the common good,” Perdue told the News & Observer. “I’m proud of this for all the people of the state.”
Plans for the area have been an issue of great debate and excitement for several months, as the hospital’s official closure brought the property into the limelight.
Though Perdue was quoted as being confident the property will become something people can “cherish for years to come,” the support needed to back that promise has become an uncertain roadblock.
WRAL reported that the N.C. Department of Health and Human services was interested in using part of the campus to relocate and consolidate its offices.
“Perdue hoped to consolidate DHHS into four or five buildings somewhere away from the Dix campus,” Kevin McLaughlin, Perdue’s deputy chief of staff, told WRAL.
Some speculate Perdue’s desire to leave the area open for a park is part of a plan to create a legacy for herself. While the former governor has not confirmed those speculations, she has not denied them.
According to WRAL, Perdue’s plans to turn the area into something memorable have been discussed since early last year, and N.C. State was on the shortlist.
Based on documents obtained from the governor’s office, WRAL reported the University was, at one point, part of a three-fold plan. The plan would task the University with developing a park in tandem with the City of Raleigh, while also using a portion of the campus to partner with local businesses.
This same report noted that N.C. State pulled out of the negotiation due to environmental health concerns about the property and its several aging buildings.
With some members of the state senate set to invalidate the newly signed lease, it remains to be seen if Raleigh will get its park after all.
