National Park Service

This briefing report analyzes the cost estimates for the proposed visitor center at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in San Antonio, Texas, and a headquarters/visitor center and separate maintenance facility at Big Thicket National Preserve, which is north of Beaumont, Texas. The Park Service's initial cost estimate for the San Antonio facility is $8.63 million. To date, about $200,000 has been spent on planning and design work. The Park Service's initial cost estimate for the Big Thicket facilities is $8.41 million. So far, about $564,000 has been spent on planning, and about $3.1 million has been spent on the maintenance facility.

GAO found that: (1) the National Park Service's (NPS) initial cost estimate for the San Antonio Missions visitor center was $8.63 million, and approximately $200,000 had been appropriated for planning and design work; (2) the initial NPS cost estimate for the Big Thicket facilities was $8.41 million, and approximately $564,000 had been appropriated for planning and about $3.1 million had been appropriated for the maintenance facility; (3) NPS estimated that such additional site work as landscaping and construction of walks and parking areas for the San Antonio Missions visitor center would cost $806,000; (4) 69 percent of the square footage in the San Antonio Missions visitor center will be visitor accommodation and interpretive space and the remaining 31 percent will be administrative space; (5) design and construction of the facilities at Big Thicket will be done in two phases, with phase I consisting of the maintenance facility and phase II consisting of the headquarters and visitor center; (6) 68 percent of the Big Thicket facility will be used for NPS staff and the remaining 32 percent will be for visitors; (7) NPS estimated that the maintenance facility would cost about $1.38 million and the headquarters/visitor center would cost about $2.27 million; and (8) a 31-percent allocation for project supervision and potential construction contingencies and cost overruns added $1.78 million to the total Big Thicket project cost and added $1.74 million to the San Antonio Missions project cost.