The National Park Service announced on July 16th that it has released a Request for Proposals to lease the Kennedy Supplee mansion, carriage house, and associated grounds for use as a restaurant, retail, office, or other light commercial use for 10 years. You can find the Request for Proposal here.

The mansion is located in Upper Merion Township at the eastern edge of Valley Forge National Historical Park off of Pennsylvania State Route 23. The mansion is adjacent to and visible from U.S. Route 422 and is close King of Prussia.

The King of Prussia Historical Society offers the following about the mansion’s history:

The Kennedy Mansion, at the eastern edge of Valley Forge National Historical Park, was built in 1852 by John Kennedy as an Italian villa-style residence. From 1911 to 1936, the mansion was owned by the Supplee family. In 1978, the National Park Service acquired the mansion through eminent domain and eventually placed it on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1986, a 55-year lease with the park service was signed, the building was restored, and it became home to the Kennedy-Supplee Mansion Restaurant until a 2005 bankruptcy. The mansion remains vacant and neglected in spite of its fine architectural characteristics and significance as one of the few remaining structures to survive the decline of the lime and blast furnaces of Port Kennedy.

The announcement from the National Park Service addresses the mansion’s current state of neglect. Funding from the Great American Outdoors Act will allow the National Park Service to fully rehabilitate the Kennedy Supplee Mansion and the surrounding Port Kennedy area. Valley Forge National Park is slated to receive $32.5 million to rehabilitate buildings for adaptive re-use leases and demolish obsolete structures throughout the park.

The mansion will undergo a comprehensive rehabilitation, encompassing both its exterior and interior, as well as the installation of all new building systems. The carriage house will also be rehabilitated. Utilities will be upgraded as necessary, and driveways, parking lots, and the surrounding landscape will also be improved. 

The National Park Service’s plan to lease the mansion is part of an effort to generate income to preserve the mansion and other historic structures within Valley Forge National Historical Park, and to potentially increase access to a building that is currently closed to the public.

Images: National Park Service