Imagine living in a mountain cottage, alongside a tidal inlet, in a Gilded-Era coachman’s house, along a winding river, or at the end of a country road, surrounded by a meadow sea.  Imagine those properties surrounded by acres of undeveloped natural beauty, where your neighbors are passing hikers, wildflowers, towering trees, songbirds and chipmunks.  If these unequalled settings sound appealing, you may be interested in the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Historic Curatorship Program.  The Curatorship Program is an innovative leasing program that promotes private sector investment in historic, public properties that are currently surplus to state use.

Through the Program, a “Curator/Tenant” is selected to rehabilitate, reuse and maintain one of the Program’s properties in exchange for credit towards lease payments in a “work for credit” system.  A Curator/Tenant is chosen through an open and competitive process.

Average lease terms range from 20 to 30 years.  To date, nine of the Program’s properties are under agreement, totaling an investment of almost $5 million from the private sector into state-owned historic properties.  The Program includes residential, commercial and institutional properties.

Historic Curatorship Program Update

Release of Bascom Lodge RFP- Summer 2008

The Department of Conservation and Recreation is pleased to invite proposals for the rehabilitation, operation, management and maintenance of the historic Bascom Lodge located at the summit of Mount Greylock State Reservation in Adams, Massachusetts.

DCR seeks creative and innovative responses to this announcement for a compatible and publicly accessible use of one of Massachusetts’ most significant sites. 

Bascom Lodge is eligible for a long term management lease under the Historic Curatorship Program.  Established in 1994, the Historic Curatorship Program partners some the Commonwealth’s significant historic buildings with parties interested in exchanging rehabilitation and maintenance for a long term lease.  The enclosed Request for Proposals seeks to identify parties interested in the opportunity to continue the seventy year tradition of providing visitors to Mt. Greylock a place to recharge, rest and reflect as they appreciate the beauty of one of New England’s most unique natural settings.

Mount Greylock holds a special place in the history of Massachusetts, and as the first forest protected by the Commonwealth, is the cradle of one of the nation’s largest and diverse parks and forest system.  The rustic architecture and naturalistic setting of Bascom Lodge and the summit area embody the spirit of the State Parks and Forest System by creating a cherished place for the study, appreciation and enjoyment of the area’s natural and cultural resources. 

Responses to this RFP are due on September 19th at 5:00pm.  Open houses are tentatively scheduled for August 16th and 29th from 10am to 4 pm.  Respondents must RSVP before attending open houses. (more details are included in the RFP).  We look forward to your response.

DCR is a conservation agency and encourages interested parties to download the electronic versions of the documents.  For hard copies, copies on disk, or more information on the Historic Curatorship Program:

E-mail: HCP.Requests@state.ma.us

Phone: 617-626-1361

Mail:

Historic Curatorship Program

7th floor, 251 Causeway St.

Boston, MA 02114. 

 

The RFP consists of the main document and Appendices:

Click here to download the Main RFP document

Click here to download Appendices A through H

Click here to download Appendices I and J

For those interested in the other properties currently being marketed under the Historic Curatorship Program, (the Coachman's House Complex, Maudslay SP, Newburyport; the Harlow Farmhouse, Ellisville Harbor SP, Plymouth; and the Lamson House, Bradley Palmer SP, Topsfield) the remaining RFPs will be released in the next 2 weeks.  You can review the Bascom Lodge RFP in order to get an idea of the general format and process.  Of course, all of the dates, deadlines and specific requirements in the Bascom Lodge RFP only pertain to Bascom Lodge.  Thank you again for your patience. 

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Contact Us:
Historic Curatorship Program
Department of Conservation and Recreation
251 Causeway St.
Suite 600-700
Boston, MA 02114

HCP.Requests@state.ma.us