The City of Raleigh is taking another step in its transformation of Dorothea Dix Park with the demolition of four buildings.
Four buildings on the west side of the former hospital campus, known as the Adams, Ashby, Kirby and Williams buildings, will soon be demolished. According to Dix Park, the project is part of a larger, long-term vision of the park, "one that prioritizes nature and community connection in the heart of the city."
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Park officials provided a map of which buildings will be demolished.
Lauren Danforth with Dix Park says the next phase of a project years in the making is designed to keep that theme going.
“To make this vision and decide this is the path forward for the park, and to see that actually start happening, I think this is one of these first big steps,” Danforth said.
The park has undergone several renovations and changes in the last few years. In 2023, the park finished renovation on a trio of 100-year-old stone homes at the park. Last year, the park opened the Gipson Play Plaza, an 18.5-acre playground on its campus.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services occupied most of the buildings at Dix Park, but recently moved its offices, which Danforth says makes it the perfect time to demolish the buildings to create more green space on the campus.
“It is going to open up all of that expansive land for future trails, green space, more gardens, or, you know, even like Piedmont Prairie,” Danforth said.
Michelle Goode, a 40-year resident of Raleigh, told WRAL News she’s already seen the changes at the park and is looking forward to the next one.
“Some of the older buildings, I think it’s great that they’ve kept them,” Goode said. “Sometimes you have to weigh, you know, your green spaces with progress.”
The legacy of the buildings will still be with the park after they’re demolished, as Danforth said the materials from them will be preserved to use on future park projects, highlighting both the past and present in a project that holds space for both.
“We want to figure out how to keep sharing those stories, whether that’s preserving physical material or retelling stories and narratives, and making sure that doesn’t get lost in the future,” Danforth said.
Danforth says this phase of the project is expected to be complete at the end of summer or early fall.
The city will then work to transform the east side of Dix Park.