National Park Service offers Ozark Bathhouse for lease opportunity; new deadline to submit proposal is February. 27

The National Park Service has amended the Request for Proposals (RFP) it issued in July 2013 to add the Ozark Bathhouse as a potential site for a new business on Bathhouse Row.  The new deadline for proposals is 4:30 p.m. (CST) February 27, 2014.

The Ozark is a Spanish Colonial Revival-style building of brick and concrete masonry construction, finished with stucco.  The 1922 building is trapezoidal in plan, although the front elevation is symmetrical.  The Ozark closed its doors as a traditional bathhouse in 1977.  After extensive stabilization and restoration, the Ozark re-opened in 2009 as the Museum of Contemporary Art of Hot Springs.

“Sadly, the Museum of Contemporary Art is closing its doors on Nov. 1 and this closure presented us with another business opportunity on Bathhouse Row,” said Josie Fernandez, Superintendent of Hot Springs National Park.  “Since we had an active RFP for three other historic park buildings, we decided to amend the RFP to include the Ozark and extend the deadline.”

The RFP is the formal process by which the National Park Service solicits proposals from the private sector to operate businesses in Hot Springs National Park.  The Maurice and Hale Bathhouses on Bathhouse Row and the Libbey Bathhouse on Reserve and Spring Streets are also included in the RFP.

Anyone interested in obtaining an RFP should contact the National Park Service by mail at Hot Springs National Park, 101 Reserve Street, Hot Springs, AR 71901, or by phone at 501-623-2824.   RFP’s are also available for download from the park’s website athttp://www.nps.gov/hosp/parkmgmt/index.htm