Valley Forge is looking for a new tenant for historic mansion
The park plans to invest $10 million into building rehabilitation if a tenant is secured.
Valley Forge National Historic Park is officially seeking a new tenant for a historic building that has sat vacant for nearly two decades.
The National Park Service last week released a request for proposals to lease the Kennedy Supplee Mansion. The tenant would sign a 10-year lease for the 4.5-acre property on the park’s eastern edge in King of Prussia, according to the document. If the park secures a tenant, it plans to invest $10 million of federal funds into rehabilitating the mansion.
“The community loves Kennedy Supplee mansion and regularly asks what the future holds for the building,” Pat Madden, the park’s business manager, said in a statement. “With this large National Park Service investment and a lease with a private-sector partner, the park and broader community have an opportunity to better preserve the building and add to the vitality of King of Prussia.”
The parcel could be occupied by a restaurant, retailer, coworking space, professional offices, or another use “determined to be consistent with NPS [National Park Service] values,” according to the requests for proposal, or RFP.
The high-end Kennedy Supplee Mansion Restaurant operated on the site from 1986 to 2005, when it filed for bankruptcy, according to the park service. It has sat empty since then.
“The park has tried to lease the building in the past,” Madden said. “What’s different this time is the size of the investment the National Park Service is prepared to make to attract a lessee.”
If a new tenant is secured, its lease would begin around 2029, after the National Park Service rehabs the property with funds from the Great American Outdoors Act, which was enacted in 2020. Valley Forge is set to receive $32.5 million in total, according to the park.
Built in 1852, the Victorian mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its architectural significance. The three-story building measures 8,800 square feet, while its split-level carriage house is about 600 square feet.
The lease includes a 25-spot parking lot, as well as another 47-spot lot that is set to be reconfigured by PennDot by 2029.
Located at 1050 Old Valley Forge Rd., the mansion sits off Pennsylvania Route 23 and is visible from U.S. Route 422. It is about half a mile from the park’s visitor center.
Potential tenants may submit proposals until 5 p.m. Sept. 12, according to the RFP, with a selection to be made four to six weeks later.
“When they come together, ambitious projects like this have few, if any, downsides,” Madden said.