Look at the ULI Development Plan next to the FDDP Park Plan:

Click map for detailed land use plan in new window

The ULI Development Plan in a Nutshell
"Dix Development & Park Plan"
Joseph Huberman

The ULI Development plan consists of a 248 acre mixed use development and a 215 acre park on state land.

• ULI uses all the Dix land, the Farmers Market and some University land which it trades with the Park for the Big Field. 

• The City of Raleigh raises $30 million of public money with tax increment financing (TIF), the citizens raise $10 million from donations, so the City can buy the property with $40 million.

• The State agrees to a lease arrangement to finance its office space and then gives the $40 million to a Mental Health Trust Fund.

• The Mayor appoints the (DCDC) "Dix Campus Development Corporation", from stakeholder groups to oversee the development. 

  • To build 3,400 residential units ULI allots 35 acres to single family homes and l65 acres to townhouses. 

  • Then 1.2 million square feet of office and retail is built on 123 acres. 

  • Finally, they include 25 acres of open space in the development, and housing for the mentally ill in the park.

Link to the ULI slide show final presentation on October 27, 2006 2.9meg PDF file
 

H3 Studio's John Hoal developed The Friends of Dorothea Dix Park park plan.  Among his credits is the plan for Forest Park in St. Louis.

This plan just contains a broad outline for the park's development.  

• Rocky Branch flood plain is modified so it has small pools, and the adjoining land is terraced so that people can be either near the water, or gaze down upon it.  

  • These pools and widening of the flood plain will slow floodwaters down reducing erosion, sedimentation and flooding downstream.  

• Some of the soccer fields are relocated near the Fuller Heights neighborhood.  

• The Great Field is ringed with trees. 

• The Farmers' Market is incorporated into the park. 

•  The road on the west side is smoothed out to create a stronger boundary for the park.  

  • This cuts 17 acres out of the park that can be used for development along the park edge.  

• There are strong greenway connections to adjacent neighborhoods, the Convention Center, the downtown developments, Centennial Campus, Lake Raleigh, and the Walnut Creek wetlands.

The key land use difference between the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Friends of Dorothea Dix Park plan is where the development occurs and how it affects its neighbors. In the Friends plan the development is concentrated around the edges of the park. This benefits the existing residential and commercial neighborhoods adjacent to the park and distributes the development opportunities to many land owners and developers.

On the other hand, the ULI plan concentrates all the development to a few developers on the state owned property. The ULI development separates the park from Lake Wheeler Road and creates a barrier to the redevelopment of these neighborhoods by offering new construction on state owned land that will overwhelm the market in the surrounding neighborhoods stalling their renewal for years.

If the "sense" of the park flows through the Farmers' Market, then Dix Park will merge into Centennial Campus, Lake Raleigh and the new Walnut Creek Park adding much more green space to explore. It is this synergy between the 306 acre Dix Park, the University, and the City Park that extends the Dix property so that it can become a World Class Destination Park gaining regional significance for the enjoyment of residents and visitors as well as a vital economic engine for the region and the state.

If we default to the ULI plan that restricts the park to 200 acres adjacent to a 250 acre development for 9,000 residents and 20,000 employees it will demote the park from a "World Class Destination Park" to a "Very Nice Community Park", which while fine for the people buying into the new neighborhood and working at the new offices, will do little to attract the amenities that make a park "World Class". It won't be a "Destination". Without the "Destination" attractions the region stands to loose hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tourist revenue. But worse yet, we will loose our last opportunity to have a grand "Central Park". We will be cutting out our heart-- for what? Another in an endless row of housing developments and shopping centers.