FORT SMITH (KFSM)-- The Fort Smith Historic Site’s Visitor Center will be closing its doors for two weeks starting Wednesday (Nov. 18).
The visitor center was given $300,000 of funding to upgrade something visitors won't be able to see, but feel.
Michael Groomer, the chief of interpretation at the visitor center, said technicians are replacing the HVAC units that heat and cool the building.
Groomer said it may seem small, but it's actually a huge project that involves bringing a crane inside the building.
“Just the main units, which are extremely heavy and large, so they're going to be hoisted up with a crane, and so the units will be replaced, but the duct stays in place. It's all good,” Groomer said.
The visitor center will be closed for 15 days, but the rest of the park will be open. The project even started a little early, so they could minimize the amount of time it’s closed.
Facility manager Darin Huggins said projects this big take years of planning and funding.
“It's cyclic funding that the National Park Service has that we go for each year," Huggins said. "We plan out five years in advance."
Huggins said this particular project has been in the works for about six years.
Groomer said this is all about improving the guest experience. On the 2015 park survey, the Fort Smith Historic Site received a 100 percent in overall visitor satisfaction, and Groomer said he wants to keep that up.
“They can expect it to be nice and warm in the winter and cool in the summer,” Groomer said. “It's just air conditioning, but boy, in July, it makes a huge difference, definitely, makes for a better visitor experience, and that's what we're all for.”
The Visitor Center will open back up on December 3, and possibly sooner if the project gets done before then.
But for now, the temporary visitor center will be set up in the Frisco Train Station on the park grounds.