Conduct Engineering Assessment and Develop Options for Treatment | P19AS00027

Opportunity Information: Apply for P19AS00027

The grant opportunity titled "Conduct Engineering Assessment and Develop Options for Treatment" (Funding Opportunity Number P19AS00027) is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement aimed at addressing serious structural and preservation concerns at the historic Mission Church of San Jose de Tumacacori, located within Tumacacori National Historical Park (TUMA). Issued by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, this discretionary funding opportunity is designed to support a collaborative partnership in which the University of Vermont (UVM) School of Engineering works directly with NPS staff on a structured program that combines technical research, on-site documentation, condition assessment, training, and early-stage design development. The central purpose is to understand the church's current structural behavior and risks, then translate that understanding into practical, preservation-minded treatment options.

The project focuses on a mission-era building dating to around 1800, notable for being largely constructed of adobe with vaults and domes built from burnt bricks. While the church is architecturally significant, it is also particularly vulnerable because its interior sanctuary and dome preserve original decorated plaster finishes. Those decorated plasters have already been the subject of multiple conservation campaigns dating back to the 1940s, indicating a long history of concern and intervention. Despite those efforts, ongoing deterioration suggests that underlying structural issues may be continuing to drive damage, especially in sensitive finished surfaces and openings.

A key technical issue highlighted in the opportunity is the persistence of hoop stress cracks in the dome. These cracks are not presented as isolated cosmetic defects; instead, they are described as contributing to continuing deterioration of the dome plasters and even affecting the sanctuary windows. In addition to dome cracking, the notice points to several obvious structural defects throughout the building, including cracking and deformation in the vaults and major cracks in the nave and sacristy walls. Taken together, these conditions raise fundamental questions about the church's present structural capacity, meaning the work is intended to move beyond surface repairs and toward diagnosing the building system as a whole: how loads are carried, where stresses are concentrating, whether movement is ongoing, and what conditions may be putting historic fabric at risk.

The funding structure reflects that this is not a standard procurement contract but a cooperative agreement, emphasizing joint participation and shared technical effort between the academic partner and NPS personnel. The anticipated work products implied by the description include a thorough engineering assessment grounded in documentation and research, and the development of treatment options that can guide future stabilization or conservation actions. Because training is also explicitly included, the effort is meant to build capability alongside delivering project outputs, likely through hands-on assessment methods, shared protocols for documentation, and collaborative development of technically defensible approaches appropriate for historic adobe-and-masonry construction.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on February 11, 2019, with an original closing date of February 20, 2019, indicating a short application window typical of targeted or partner-specific cooperative agreements. Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, aligning with the stated role of UVM's School of Engineering. The funding ceiling is $280,000, with one expected award, signaling a single, focused project rather than a broad multi-award program. The activity category is listed under natural resources (CFDA 15.945), consistent with NPS stewardship responsibilities for cultural resources within park units.

Overall, this grant opportunity supports a concentrated technical effort to evaluate structural distress in an early 19th-century adobe and brick church, connect observed cracking and deformation to underlying mechanics and risks, and produce realistic treatment pathways that protect both the building's structural integrity and its historically significant decorated plaster surfaces.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Conduct Engineering Assessment and Develop Options for Treatment" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 11, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 20, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $280,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for P19AS00027

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