Cost rising for 1st phase of Raleigh’s Dix Park. Here’s what the city will do.
Raleigh will cover a nearly $5 million budget shortfall for the first major construction project at Dorothea Dix Park.
Construction on the Gipson Play Plaza began last year. Set to open in 2025, the plaza will have playgrounds, water features, gardens, cookout areas and other amenities for the 308-acre park.
Raleigh has to move forward now especially in light of the inflation and supply chain issues plaguing construction projects, Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said Monday.
“We need to find a way to do it and be creative,” she said. “And I’m just really excited to start moving forward and getting this first phase off the ground because that’s going to make all the difference in fundraising and moving forward.”
The original budget was $67 million, which included a $20 million in donations from the Dix Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that works with the city to raise money for the park near downtown Raleigh.
But bids have come in higher than budgeted, with the city facing a $4.9 million gap.
City staff made these recommendations to cover the shortfall:
Move $2.4 million allocated for other Dix Park endeavors from the 2022 parks bond.
Move $1.1 million in facility fees.
Accept another $1.5 million donation from the Conservancy.
On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council voted 6-2 to make the changes.
The sticking point for two council members, Christina Jones and Megan Patton, came from moving $1.1 million in facility funds.
When homes and other residential buildings are constructed, developers pay an open space fee the city uses to build or expand parks in the same area.
“With the creation of Dix Park and the additional residential development that’s happening, we thought it was a good use of facility fees to keep that money within the district to fill the funding gap here,” said Kate Pierce, planning supervisor for Dix Park.
But Patton said using those fees for the plaza was causing her a “little bit of heartburn.”
“Dix has gotten such a huge infusion of support from so many sources that I just wanted to be a little more proportional in the allocation of that particular part,” she explained after the meeting.
Jones also said she had concerns about Dix Park receiving so much of the bond money and then still needing more money.
“It’s a lot of money to give to one park that got a very large chunk of the bond,” Jones said. “And I just want to make sure that we’re actively making sure that all parks are served in that district.”
Raleigh voters backed a $275 million parks bond last year with $45.2 million for Dix Park plus another $21 million for improvements to Lake Wheeler Road and a multi-use path that borders the park. About $35 million was for the plaza.
