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The site of an abandoned mental hospital in North Carolina is being transformed into the next 'Central Park.' Take a look.

Sep 10, 2019, 22:13 IST

During the Antebellum era, the land held a large slave-owning plantation. Parts of it were later converted into a mental hospital.

The hospital was located on a hilltop surrounded by a rolling green landscape.

The hospital served mentally ill patients until 2012, when it was abandoned.

On the outskirts of the hospital, a cemetery holds more than 900 graves, many of which are unmarked.

The new park will encompass the hospital campus and its surrounding acres.

While the master plan is still being finalized, the park's green space is already open to the public. A new photo-worthy sunflower field was unveiled in 2018.

The hospital is still cordoned off by a hedge and fences.

The city intends to rehab a structure called the Harvey Building, which used to house hospital patients.

Creech said the city "doesn't want to be hasty" about ignoring the site's past, but also wants to create modern public spaces that welcome new Raleigh residents.

Like its nickname suggests, the new park will be centrally located.

The city came with up six distinct landscape designs within the park, based on input from Raleigh locals.

At a site called "The Creek," the city plans to clear a landfill with more than 1 million cubic yards of waste.

But city officials are nervous about the park's effect on rents for nearby residents.

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