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Mammoth
Cave, KY – March 2024 / Newsmaker Alert: Mammoth
Cave National Park officials and invited guests gathered at The
Lodge at Mammoth Cave on Friday, Mar. 22 to mark the completion of
the Mammoth
Cave Hotel Roof Replacement Project. The project was funded through
the Great American Outdoors Act
(GAOA) Legacy Restoration Fund and fixed major structural issues with the
park’s main hotel building.
“This
facility improvement project was made possible by the funding we received
through the Great American Outdoors Act,” said Superintendent Barclay
Trimble. “The Act presents an opportunity for parks such as Mammoth
Cave to address large-scale projects that cannot realistically be funded
through other means. The hotel project is a perfect example of that need,
and the final result is a building we can all be proud of.”
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The
original hotel structure was built in 1965 and had a virtually flat roof.
The design did not allow water to drain off correctly. During periods of
heavy rain, dozens of roof leaks would appear throughout the building and
impact visitors using the restaurants, retail shops, and lodging rooms.
The exterior windows of the building were also failing, and the configuration
of the hotel lobby and hallways were arranged in a way that was often confusing
to visitors trying to pass from one side of the building to the other.
In
2018 the park drafted an action plan to fix the roof issues, but it was
clear that the repairs were beyond the financial resources of the park
concessioner or the park’s traditional funding methods. While park officials
researched various funding options, the GAOA was enacted in 2020 and the
Mammoth Cave Hotel Roof Project was selected as one of the first projects
to be funded.
Over
the last two years the almost 60-year-old building received a new roof,
a reconfiguration and expansion of the interior lobby, installation of
new energy efficient windows and insulation, and a complete facade update.
The remodeled and redesigned building is now ready to welcome park visitors.
The
building has also seen several additional months of remodeling beyond the
GAOA project by the park concessioner, ExplorUS. The concession provides
food and beverage, retail, lodging, and cave tour transportation services
for Mammoth Cave National Park and operates the newly remodeled hotel.
They worked closely with park officials to complete a remodel of two hotel
restaurants, four accessible lodging rooms, a conference room, and three
bathrooms in conjunction with the Hotel Roof Project. ExplorUS also repurposed
a retail storage room into a coffee shop for an enhanced visitor experience.
“ExplorUS
has been hard at work keeping our visitor services up and running throughout
the Hotel Roof Project all while making their own improvements to this
building,” said Trimble. “Through our productive partnership and their
further investment, they have helped to update and modernize the hotel
facility at Mammoth Cave.”
During
the ribbon cutting event Superintendent Trimble, the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of National Contracting Services – Miguel Montano, and the CEO of
ExplorUS – Frank Pikus, each addressed the crowd in front of the hotel.
They then cut a red ribbon to officially reopen the building. Event guests
toured the newly rehabilitated facility to view the new improvements and
learn about future park projects planned for the hotel area including the
construction of four family sized cabins, a redesign of the back entrance
of the hotel and accessible Heritage Trail, and reconfiguration of the
hotel parking lot.
GAOA’s
National
Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund is part of a concerted
effort to address the extensive maintenance backlog in national parks.
Supported by revenue from energy development, the fund provides up to $1.3
billion per year for five years to the National Park Service to make significant
enhancements in national parks to ensure their preservation and provide
opportunities for recreation, education, and enjoyment for current and
future visitors.
Learn
more information about the Hotel Roof Project and view photos of the hotel
before, during, and after construction on
our website.
About
the National Park Service
More
than 20,000 National Park Service
employees care for America’s 429 national parks and work with communities
across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home
recreational opportunities. Visit us at
www.NPS.gov,
on Facebook Facebook.com/nationalparkservice,
Twitter Twitter.com/natlparkservice,
and YouTube YouTube.com/nationalparkservice.
Find
a Park here.
Media
Contact:
Molly
Schroer
Public
Affairs Officer
National
Park Service
270-758-2192
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