Preservation Maryland is soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQ) for a field survey of historic structures currently on lands managed by the Maryland Park Service.
To be considered as eligible, Respondents must meet one or more of the Professional Qualification Standards—or their equivalent—as set forth by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards and Guidelines; and have demonstrated experience in historic preservation.
Preservation Maryland requests that interested parties respond to the solicitation by 8:30 A.M. ET on Monday, July 31st, 2023.
The Maryland Park Service (MPS), an agency of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is responsible for the management of a large number of historic resources located on public lands throughout the state. Between 1,000-2,000 historic structures have been acquired by DNR since the 1950s. In the 1970s, most of the structures received cursory documentation via a “windshield survey” by the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) and several were placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In the early 2000s, properties in the Central and Southern Regions received comprehensive Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties (MIHP) surveys in partnership with MHT. More recently, many New Deal-era structures throughout the parks received Determinations of Eligibility (DOE) and a detailed survey and NRHP listing of the South Mountain Battlefield was completed. And in 2019, MPS initiated a new “windshield survey” to document its historic structures; however, the survey was not completed, though some data was collected at the time.
While there have been many efforts throughout the years, most historic structures managed by MPS lack DOE or up-to-date documentation, hindering the agency from effectively making informed decisions about which historic structures to prioritize for treatment and/or where to direct limited funding. In response, DNR was directed by the 2022 Great Maryland Outdoors Act to conduct a systemwide survey of its historical and cultural resources with a focus on racial and linguistic inclusivity. In fulfillment of this directive, Preservation Maryland is partnering with MPS to complete a historic structures survey to aid in the conservation, restoration, and interpretation of significant historical and cultural resources within public state park lands.
Acting as project manager on behalf of MPS, Preservation Maryland is seeking consultant services for the completion of a field survey. This project will build on preliminary efforts to create a database of all historic structures located on lands managed by MPS, which includes state parks, natural resource management areas, natural environment areas, and state battlefields, and will require coordinated efforts between MPS, MHT, and Preservation Maryland.
The goal of this project is to assist DNR in obtaining a more comprehensive understanding of the number, location, characteristics, and condition of historic structures presently under MPS management to help make more informed decisions regarding the planning, management, adaptive reuse, restoration, and/or razing of its historic structures.
Project objectives include:
- Finalizing a list of database fields in coordination with DNR and MHT. A working list will be provided to the selected consultant(s).
- Preparing a database in spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel format of all historic structures and visible cemeteries on lands managed by MPS that is fully compatible with DNR’s MERLIN and GIS mapping system.
- Providing detailed research notes and high-resolution color digital photographs in TIFF format of all historic structures and cemeteries on lands managed by MPS on both an external hard-drive and cloud-based drive.