Village Seeking Architects To Lead Parrish Renovation

Southampton Village officials sent out proposal requests to a dozen architectural firms this week seeking bids on the restoration and renovation of the Parrish Art Museum building on Jobs Lane.

The museum building has suffered from roof leaks and cracks in its century-old facade for years as the directors of its namesake art collection decided what their future would be. With the museum moving to a gargantuan new facility outside the village sometime later this year, the village, which owns the building built by the museum’s creator, Samuel L. Parrish, has set its sights on an extensive renovation and restoration that will lead into the transformation of the building into a multi-use cultural clubhouse to be called the Southampton Center for the Arts.

The work the village will undertake will include the replacement of the roof, restoration of the brickwork on the outside of the historic sections of the museum building—which has undergone two modern expansions as recently as the 1970s—along with interior redesigns and new climate, electrical and plumbing systems throughout the building.

“There are multiple stages to this, first thing is the restoration of the historic building,” Mayor Mark Epley said. “We can’t commence the work until the [new museum] is done, but we’d like to have all the plans ready and know what the cost is. We’re trying to minimize the cost to taxpayers as much as possible.”

The 12 firms that were sent proposal requests were chosen from about two dozen that threw their hats in the ring to be considered for leading the project. The firms chosen were selected according to their past work with museums or theaters, historic preservation experience, reputation and past work on the East End. Three of the firms are from the East End.

The renovated museum is to be home to a variety of arts and cultural programs, but the village is hoping to have an anchor tenant at the building, something that will draw visitors not only to the facility but to the downtown business district, particularly in the evenings.