Request For Qualifications

Adirondack Rural Revitalization Program
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS 2023

 Deadline June 9, 2023

Request for Qualifications Consulting Assistance in Preparing a National Register of Historic Places Nominations

Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH), through its Adirondack Rural Revitalization Program, is seeking letters of interest and statements of qualifications for consultant services to prepare a National Register Nominations throughout the Adirondack region (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Washington, and Warren Counties). Consultants must meet the professional qualification standards for an architectural historian of the National Park Service, Professional Minimum Qualification Standards 36 CFR 61.

The consultant shall be experienced in project management, the requirements of the National Register program, and American History and Architectural History. The ideal candidate will have successfully prepared and submitted National Register Nominations in the project region.

AARCH is accepting letters of interest and statements of qualification through June 9, 2023. Affirmative Action-Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and Minorities are encouraged to submit a response. ARRP is being supported in part by a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Regulations of the State of New York prohibit discrimination against any person or group of persons based on race, color, religious creed, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, or intellectual or physical disability.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This RFQ seeks to compile a list of approved National Register consultants who will work with the New York State (NYS) Historic Preservation Office on National Register nomination writing as needed. Approved consultants will be contacted to submit proposals to AARCH for any ARRP applicant projects requiring National Register nominations. 

The $750,000 sub-grant program, ARRP, will fund capital rehabilitation projects that foster community vibrancy and enhance a sense of place within our region’s community and agricultural centers, focusing on historic main streets and agricultural buildings. This $750,000 grant will fund capital rehabilitation grants for historic main street and agricultural buildings in and around the hamlets and villages of the Adirondack region ARRP is being supported in part by a Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interio

This program is open to private, public, and nonprofit owners of historic properties throughout the Adirondack region (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Washington, and Warren Counties). Properties must be listed on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places (individually or contributing to a historic district) and in towns of under 10,000.

To qualify for ARRP funding, buildings must be determined National Register-eligible (individual or district) or listed in the National Register of Historic Places (individual or district). The project will include hiring an approved consultant through this RFQ process who will work with the New York State (NYS) Historic Preservation Office on National Register nomination writing as needed. The site must be listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the end of the grant period, as mandated by the National Park Service, as a funding requirement.

PROJECT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. Scope of Work: AARCH is seeking statements of qualifications from professionals for assistance with public outreach and the preparation of a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places in accordance with the guidelines of the National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Methodology will follow guidelines found in National Register Bulletin #15, How to apply the National Register Criteria, and 16a, How to Complete the National Register Form.

B. Qualification Requirements: The project requires a consultant, as approved by AARCH, who meets the professional qualifications standards of the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, as stated in 36 CFR 61 Appendix A for or Architectural Historian (see below). The consultant shall be experienced in project management, the requirements of the National Register program, and American History and architectural History.

C. Project Schedule:  Qualifications will be accepted till June 9, 2023. AARCH-approved consultants will be notified by July 9, 2023.

Fall 2023 – National Register Nominations Request for Proposals sent to approved consultant list.

Winter 2023 – Selection of consultants for individual projects, execution of contracts, and notices to proceed. If the consultant has not previously worked with the NY SHPO to submit a National Register nomination, the consultant will be expected to attend an initial meeting with SHPO staff.

Summer 2024 – Preliminary drafts for AARCH review

Fall 2024 – Submission of draft Application and Nomination to OPRHP.

Winter 2024 – Submission of final draft Application and Nomination to OPRHP.

2025 DATE TBD Representation at State Historic Preservation Review Board (SHPRB) Meeting

D. RFQ Requirements and Conditions

1. Responses to RFQ shall be the sole property of AARCH. Respondents are encouraged not to include in the Responses any proprietary information. All materials associated with this RFQ and/or the responses are subject to the terms of applicable law defining freedom of information and privacy and all rules, regulations, and interpretations resulting from those laws.

2. Any materials, items, or information, whether acceptable or unacceptable, developed by the respondent in connection with the RFQ and the response shall be the sole property of AARCH.

3. AARCH will ultimately determine the timing and sequence of events resulting from the RFQ and the responses.

4. Any costs and expenses incurred by the respondent in preparing or submitting the response are the sole responsibility of the respondent.

5. Respondent must be prepared to present evidence of experience, ability, service facilities, insurance, and financial condition necessary to satisfactorily meet the requirements set forth or implied in the RFQ, the Terms, or applicable law (the Requirements).

6. The terms of the Requirements will supersede all prior negotiations, representations, or agreements, alleged or made, between AARCH and Respondent.

E. Response Submission Requirements

Responses can be transmitted via email or USPS, but the respondent is strongly encouraged to send a copy of the response to adkrural@aarch.org, with “ARRP RFQ NR Nomination” noted in the subject line of the email. The copy of the Response sent by email should have the Response saved as a Portable Document Format (PDF)

The Response must also contain the following items:

• Resume.

• Three references from recent clients. Provide name, title, entity address, and phone number for each reference.

• Written statement that the Respondent has read and accepts the RFQ, the Terms, and the Requirements. The respondent must sign the statement.

Questions about the RFQ and the Response are to be in writing and sent by email to adkrural@aarch.org. Respondents and responses will be sent to the indicated email address.

Selection Criteria: Selection will be based on the Respondent’s previous experience and qualifications, references, responsiveness to the RFQ, and the ability to competently complete the work within the allotted budget and period of time.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION STANDARDS FOR ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, PROFESSIONAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATION STANDARDS 36 CFR 61

Professional Qualifications Standards The following requirements are those used by the National Park Service and have been previously published in the Code of Federal Regulations, 36 CFR Part 61. The qualifications define the minimum education and experience required to perform identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment activities. In some cases, additional areas or levels of expertise may be needed, depending on the complexity of the task and the nature of the historic properties involved. In the following definitions, a year of full-time professional experience need not consist of a continuous year of full-time work but may be made up of discontinuous periods of full-time or part-time work adding up to the equivalent of a year of full-time experience.

Architectural History The minimum professional qualifications in architectural History are a graduate degree in architectural History, art history, historic preservation, or closely related field, with coursework in American architectural History, or a bachelor’s degree in architectural History, art history, historic preservation or closely related field plus one of the following:

1. At least two years of full-time experience in research, writing, or teaching in American architectural History or restoration architecture with an academic institution, historical organization or agency, museum, or other professional institution; or

2. Substantial contribution through research and publication to the body of scholarly knowledge in the field of American architectural history.

AARCH is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation and a registered New York State charitable institution.