RFP issued for 'endangered' historic Calais house

Photo / Chris Closs, Maine Preservation The National Park Service has issued an RFP for the McGlashan-Nickerson House in Calais. The lessee would get an up to 60-year lease in exchange for rehabilitating the historic property.

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By Maureen Milliken

The National Park Service has issued a request for proposals for renovation and leasing the historic McGlashan-Nickerson House in Calais.

The house, which is on the property of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site in Calais, was listed on the Maine Preservation 2018 Endangered Historic Places list.

The RFP seeks someone to rehabilitate, stabilize and preserve the building, meeting U.S. Department of Interior standards for treatment of historic properties, in exchange for a lease of up to 60 years.

Proposals must be compatible with the mission of the National Park Service to preserve the state and country's heritage, but can include for-profit uses, such as a bed and breakfast. The Saint Croix Island International Historic Site marks the first presence of permanent Eurpoean presence in the U.S., with the visit of Pierre Dugua's French expedition. The house itself is important in the cultural and industrial history of Calais.

Photo / Maureen Milliken

The interpretive path at the Saint Croix International Site in Calais. The historic McGlashan-Nickerson House at the National Park Service site is being offered for lease in exchange for rehabilitation.

Linkage to historic site

Proposals that "offer some linkage in concept and execution with the mission of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site" will be given more consideration than others, but that linkage isn't a requirement. "Residential and commercial uses as well as complementary uses, including but not limited to educational, museum or cultural use are encouraged," the RFP says.

"The local community as well as the historic preservation community in Maine considers the McGlashan-Nickerson House to be of significant local interest for both its architectural style as well as for its connection to more prosperous times in the county," the park service says in the RFP. "Consideration should be given to the setting of the McGlashan-Nickerson House."

The setting includes approximately 1.5 acres, which is part of the larger historic yard with an orchard and access to the waterfront via Red Beach Cove.

The visitor center for Saint Croix Island International Historic Site is about 140 yards to the south, where there is also an interpretive trail and viewing area. The house is far enough from the visitor sites, however, that it can be used for a private residence, the park service says.

The negotiated term of the lease could be 50 or 60 years, given the amount of repairs needed for the building. The lease length will allow the lessee to achieve a return on any investment.

The NPS may provide rental offsets for capital improvements with a final rent payment schedule also negotiated with the developer. Rental offsets could end up offsetting the full rental amount, the park service says.

Photo / Chris Closs, Maine Preservation

The road and orchard on the historic McGlashan-Nickerson House property in Calais.

Proposal requirements, site visits

The minimum requirement for proposals will be to maintain the integrity of the exterior envelope of the building. All repairs, whether interior or exterior, have to be in accordance with the secretary of the interior’s standards for rehabilitation and will be subject to review by the park service.

Site visits prior to proposal submission are being offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, or at another time with an appointment if a potential applicant can't make that date.

NPS staff will compile a list of questions asked via email or at the open house and post them, along with answers, on the website with the RFP. The deadline to submit questions is Nov. 20. Proposals are being accepted up to Dec. 10.

The park service acquired the house, which was built in 1883, in 2000 and used it for offices, but moved out when the visitor center was built in 2013. The park service first offered the house to anyone who'd remove it from the property, but there were no takers.

Courtesy / National Park Service

The McGlashan-Nickerson House is on the National Park Service Saint Croix International Historic Site. To the left is U.S. Route 1, and the city of Calais is just north.

Stay of execution

The house was slated for demolition, but the park service agreed to the stay of execution earlier this year after pushback from community and preservation advocates. The RFP was issued Oct. 10.

If a lessee isn't found within two years, the house will likely be demolished, said Greg Paxton, of Maine Preservation, one of the groups advocating for restoration.

The McGlashan-Nickerson house was one of the properties on Maine Preservation's 2018 Endangered Historic Places list. It's in the village of Red Beach, in Calais, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

It's a 5,700-square-foot Italianate-style, two-story frame dwelling with a long ell that extends to a carriage barn. Built for Scottish immigrant George G. McGlashan, a shareholder in the Maine Red Granite Co., it was sold to Samuel H. Nickerson in 1887.

During the 19th century, the village of Red Beach was a thriving community on the banks of the St. Croix River, which separates Maine from New Brunswick. It revolved around the Maine Red Granite Co. and the Red Beach Plaster Co., which both occupied a group of buildings that were concentrated along the banks of Red Beach Cove.

The house is one of the two or three most architecturally significant houses in the small village of Red Beach, and the only one that displays such wide use of Italianate-style details.

Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider said the park service sees the possible restoration "as an opportunity to repurpose an historic home and an even greater opportunity to preserve an important historical building that was connected to the 19th century Maine Red Granite Company."

Site Manger Meg Scheid said leasing the house "will improve resource stewardship and visitor experiences at Saint Croix Island International Historic Site by focusing limited NPS resources on protecting the site’s fundamental resources and values."