On Tuesday, Raleigh leaders voted unanimously to approve the first phase of the Dorothea Dix Park master plan, after more than a year of discussion and planning.

The master plan involves sectioning the park into six distinct landscapes: The Creek, The Meadow, The Grove, The Ridge, The Valley and The Gateway, with each section providing different types of leisure and recreation opportunities.

The Creek, The Grove and The Meadow will be naturalistic environments that support passive recreation, such as walking, biking and wildlife observation, while The Ridge, The Gateway and The Valley will accommodate active uses and programs as stated in the master plan.

According to WRAL, more features of the plan include demolishing sections of the former Dorothea Dix Hospital and transforming the remaining structure into an arts space. They also plan to restore a creek, the woodlands and a historic cemetery on the property and to create both a bike trail along with a walking path.

The Department of Health and Human Services still has administrative headquarters on the site until 2025; however, the buildings will be demolished in the future and turned into a new space for the park, ABC11 reported.

Phase one of the constructions at Dix Park could take up to 10 to 20 years to complete, but in the meantime, those on the Park Planning Committee will work on bringing funding options and cost estimates to the Raleigh City Council, WRAL reported.