Atsion Mansion Restoration

[Ben Ruset]

This public notice was posted today:

http://pa.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=601796

PUBLIC NOTICE Project Advertisement
Project # P0899-00
Project Name: Atsion Mansion Restoration at Wharton State Forest
Location: Route 206 - Atsion Recreation Area, Shamong Twp., NJ - Burlington County

A Mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting Is Scheduled For Friday August 17, 2007 At 9:30am At Atsion Mansion - Route 206 -Atsion Recreation Area Shamong Twp., NJ - Burlington County. Contact Person: Eugene R. Cardone, Jr, RA, 609-633-2648. Only Bids Submitted By Contractors Who Attend This Meeting Will Be Accepted.

Sealed Bids Will Be Received & Time Stamped At The Division Of Property Management & Construction, Plan Room, 33 West State Street, 9th Floor, (PO Box 034) Trenton, NJ 08625 Until 2:00 P.M. On Thursday, September 6, 2007 For: Single-Bid
(Lump Sum All Trades)
Historical Restoration (C024)
$1,260,921, .00

In Accordance With N.J.S.A. 52:32-2, This Project Shall Be Bid As A Single-Bid Lump Sum All Trades. Bidder Must Name Their Classified Subcontractor(S) For The Following Trade(S): Structural Steel/Ornamental Iron (C029)

Failure To List Classified Sub-Contractors Will Deem The Bid Non-Responsive.

Bid Documents May Be Examined At The Above Address Or Obtained For A Document Fee Based On The Individual Trade Estimate Shown Above, As Follows: Trade Estimate Up To $100,000 - No Fee, In Excess Of $100,000 - $65.00. An Additional $10.00 Fee Is Required For Mailing Of Bid Documents. All Fees Are Not Refundable And Must Be Received By The Division Before Documents Will Be Released. A Company Check Payable To The "Treasurer, State Of New Jersey" Is Required. Contact John DeAngelo at 609-292-2116 For Further Information.

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 17:14-1.1 et. seq., this project has been designated as a Small Business Set-Aside Opportunity.

Note: This contract includes a goal of awarding 25 percent of the total contract value to either a prime or subcontract level. The Low Bidder must produce copies of approval notice from the Commerce Commission Set-Aside and Certification Office designating the prime or subcontracting firm as a Small Business Enterprise prior to the award of contract.All questions concerning the Small Business Set-Aside Program should be addressed to: NJ Commerce &
Economic Growth
Commission
Office of Business
Services
20 West State Street
P. O. Box 820
Trenton, NJ 08625-0820
Phone: 609-777-0885

Bidders Must Be Classified By The Division Under N.J.S.A. 52:35 And Must Submit Bid Security As Provided In Instructions To Bidders & General Conditions. No Bidder May Withdraw His Bid For 60 Calendar Days After The Opening. The State May Reject Any And All Bids.

Bidders Are Required To Comply With The Requirements Of P.L. 1975, C. 127, N.J. Law Against Discrimination.

Richard M. Ferrara,
Assistant Deputy Director
Contracts & Procurement
Division Of Property Management & Construction
State Of New Jersey
Department Of The Treasury
P. O. Box 034
Trenton, NJ 08625-0034

Adv. Fee: $235.44
BCT: July 23, 24, 25, 2007
Aff. Chg.: $20.00

Rumor is, this is just for an outside restoration/stabilization. I have a feeling the interior alone would probably need about $1M to get to "Batsto Mansion" levels. The Atsion mansion has been unoccupied since the 1880's (IIRC.). There are no electrical wires and no indoor plumbing. For them to open it up and make it useful to the public, they'd have to hack all of that stuff in. I don't know how they can do that without taking a lot of the plaster and lathe walls down, and cutting into the HUGE wood trim that runs along all of the floors.

I have a guilty pleasure, though. I want to somehow get a set of plans for the building, and see what it would cost to build a replica. (With plumbing and electricity.)

 

[james ungehajer]

It is great news to see something finally being done to it before it would have collapsed, i am very happy that you posted about it.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

I have a guilty pleasure, though. I want to somehow get a set of plans for the building, and see what it would cost to build a replica. (With plumbing and electricity.)

That would make for a great home.

 

[Ben Ruset]

It is great news to see something finally being done to it before it would have collapsed, i am very happy that you posted about it.

It seems more likely that the place would have burnt than collapsed. It's REALLY sturdy, especially for a building that has been a hundred years vacant.

 

[jokerman]

The inside must be a total disaster. I know once a building is unoccupied that deterioration sets in rapidly. It's a good thing the outside is masonry because it would have fallen down a long time ago with the rest of the buildings. It's a rare building given its historic background in the Pines. It's amazing that there isn't more emphasis put on historic preservation. All the money is there, it's just wasted by the system.

 

[omega]

I remember hearing about a past restoration, finding Bees inside the walls. was it ever open to the public?

I would love to walk around inside.

quick search turned this up, sorry if its old news

http://www.hjgaconsulting.com/museum002.htm

 

[Trailhead00]

I was in the Atsion Mansion in 2000 or 2001 and it was in sad shape. A lot of the mantles have been destroyed and the walls have been torn apart. I also believe it could be repaired, it is not a lost cause. Of course that takes money and probably lots of it. The inside of it made me think it was a mansion more than the inside of Batsto, if that makes any sense. It has a grand hallway and high ceilings. Made me feel like I was in something really special.

 

[MuckSavage]

Hey, since the "Extreme Home Makeover" crew is in Camden, perhaps we could kidnap them & bring them to Atsion......

....On second thought, nah, I'd wind up choking Ty Pennington & hitting him in the head with his stupid bull horn.

 

[PineyPaul]

My family lived in Atsion all their Lifes. I am the kid that used to down 206.I don't Know in to I see it finished. The ramp should have been put on other side under the shed roof

 

[jokerman]

I met some guy at Martha about a month ago who was using a metal detector. I wasn't happy to see him using it but I didn't get too much onto him about it. He SAID he donated a lot of things to the historical society, but he was definately treasure hunting. The reason I'm posting this is because he said his uncle (pretty sure he said Uncle) had the original fireback from the Atsion mansion which he took back in the 60's when it was easy to get in. I told him that I thought THIS would be a really good time for him to return it with the restoration going on but he didn't seem like he was too concerned. He then went off in his Jeep towards his next ghost town victim.. Oh yeah, he also said that the rangers don't give him any trouble for using a metal detctor in the State Forest.

 

[Ben Ruset]

From what I saw all of the firebacks were still in the mansion. All of the mantles were in nice shape as was a lot of the original woodwork.

The plaster walls need attention, as do the floors. But on a whole, it's in good shape and supposedly in better structural shape than the Batsto Mansion.

 

[MarkBNJ]

I met some guy at Martha about a month ago who was using a metal detector. I wasn't happy to see him using it but I didn't get too much onto him about it. He SAID he donated a lot of things to the historical society, but he was definately treasure hunting. The reason I'm posting this is because he said his uncle (pretty sure he said Uncle) had the original fireback from the Atsion mansion which he took back in the 60's when it was easy to get in. I told him that I thought THIS would be a really good time for him to return it with the restoration going on but he didn't seem like he was too concerned. He then went off in his Jeep towards his next ghost town victim.. Oh yeah, he also said that the rangers don't give him any trouble for using a metal detctor in the State Forest.

I'm surprised to hear that, and saddened. It's definitely against the regulations, and with a pretty steep fine to boot. I hate to think private individuals are going in there and carrying stuff off.

Speaking of the Atsion Mansion, I was by there Sunday and it looked like there had been some substantial concrete work done along the side nearest 206, but not right up against the house. Near it rather. It was getting dark and we just rolled by, so I could have been seeing things.

 

[BobNJ1979]

i'm not a metal detector user or a treasure hunter.. i'm too type A for that. but just to clarify, it's illegal to use a metal detector in / around any of the ghost towns of the pines (say friendship for example). thanks.

 

[Teegate]

I see people all the time at Friendship using them. I recruited one of them to help me find the geodetic monument by the ruins.

Guy

 

[jokerman]

Yeah, I use one too, but haven't done so in the Pines yet. This guy also told me that someone had found a bag of gold coins in the area of Quaker Bridge which were supposed to be worth a lot of dough. He said it was apparent that Martha was riddled with dig holes from treasure seekers. He THOUGHT he was gonna' tell me a thing or two about Martha but he really had no idea about the place and I played dumb for a while and then let him know that he was clueless. He also said that he had discovered a historic refuse pile at Atsion and was supposed to investigate it for them. Could be true, I don't know. I hate knowing that these people are combing the woods taking away the last remnants of the wonderful places too. I wish I had taken his license plate but I know they would do nothing about it.

 

[LARGO]

The plaster walls need attention, as do the floors. But on a whole, it's in good shape and supposedly in better structural shape than the Batsto Mansion.

If one does the simple math, look what the foundations of the Batsto mansion are trying to hold up compared to Atsion. Big difference in every direction.
I was by the Mansion, Atsion, Saturday on my way up to Seaside. Looks like the beginnings are pretty generic prep.

g.

 

[Ben Ruset]

If one does the simple math, look what the foundations of the Batsto mansion are trying to hold up compared to Atsion. Big difference in every direction.
I was by the Mansion, Atsion, Saturday on my way up to Seaside. Looks like the beginnings are pretty generic prep.

g.

The Batsto mansion is a hodgepodge of additions and renovations. The Atsion mansion today is pretty much how it was built -- I think the only significant addition was a primitive central heating system.

The Atsion mansion doesn't have indoor plumbing or wiring for electricity.

 

[PineyPaul]

When my uncle was a boy they used to play in the Atsion Mansion. It was still the Wharton Estate. My great grandfather was one of the caretakers in Atsion Sidney Crain. There is photo of by the barn in one the books on Atsion. The concrete barn was build in 1926 that replace the wooden barn the got struck by lighting. The structure is pored concrete, and the first of it kind in the area.

 

[Ben Ruset]

The state recently fenced it off, too. You used to be able to go inside it.

 

[MuckSavage]

The barn with the rowbats inside?

Piney Paul....were the rowboats once used as a livery on Atsion Lake? Anyone else know?