HOT SPRINGS -- Hot Springs National Park is planning to make repairs to the Buckstaff Bathhouse, including replacing the porch.
With no projected date to begin, the project is expected to cost between $500,000 and $1 million, according to information on SAM.gov.
"That's just kind of a ballpark estimate," said Tricia Horn, management and program analyst for Hot Springs National Park. "We won't know exactly until the bids come in."
Contractors from the national park's regional office through the National Park Service in Omaha, Nebraska, are working on getting bids for the project.
"We don't have any idea at this point when that's going to open or close," she said.
It should take no longer than around 120 calendar days from the time a notice to proceed is received to finish the project, the post said.
The Buckstaff will not be paying for the repairs directly, Horn said. Instead, since the bathhouse has a Category II concession contract, money will be taken out of fees the bathhouse has already paid.
With the contract, the Buckstaff can make no construction or capital investments to the property. The money for these repairs will come from franchise fees, consideration paid to the director for the privileges granted by a concession contract, as a percentage of the gross income earned by the bathhouse as well as the Mountain Tower.
The Buckstaff Bathhouse has never closed since it opened in 1912, Horn said.
"To be able to keep that building open, every now and then we have to be able to do these large projects for the feasibility of the building itself and to keep the historic fabric from just falling apart," she said.
The repairs listed on SAM.gov include:
• Tuckpointing all the joints on the sand-colored exterior brick.
• Low-pressure washing and cleaning all exterior surfaces.
• Replacing the terrazzo porch.
• Replacing the exterior sidewalks, steps and ramp.
• Patching and sealing cracks in cap stone, stucco and plaster walls, wood surfaces and window sills and trims.
• Repairing and repainting exterior stucco, including all decorative and detailed structures.
• Repainting all painted exterior surfaces, including doors and windows.