City of Raleigh to Lease Dix Property

Raleigh is on its way to having a destination park like New York's Central Park and Chicago's Millenium Park. The Council of State voted earlier today six-to-2 to approve leasing the state-owned Dorothea Dix property to the City of Raleigh for 75 years. The City will pay 5 hundred thousand dollars a year, with a 1-point-5 percent annual increase.

Some Republican legislative leaders have criticized the deal, most notably Senate President Phil Berger. He says he's considering legal action to terminate the lease. But Governor Bev Perdue says Berger and other opponents are misguided.

Bev Perdue: "I would hope that they would respect the decisions of the Council of State, the duly elected body for the people of North Carolina for this four-year period. That they also would respect the fact that this state is known for investments in the state's future, and this is an important investment in our state's future."

Several non-profit groups comprised of civic and business leaders have been working for years to establish a park on the more than three hundred acre property that used to house to the state's psychiatric hospital.